Psalm 1 | The Paradox of Growth | Part 2
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.Psalm 1:1-2
In part one of this series we took a look at how the author is holding out an ideal way of living. With the words “Blessed is the man…” we are given the path to flourishing. If we want to properly relate to God in all of life’s situations, properly order our lives with a Godward priority, and live for the Kingdom of God, we need to follow the example of this “blessed man”.
Where do we start?
If we want to properly orient ourselves on this path to flourishing, we must begin with deciphering where we are. Your GPS does not work if it cannot acquire your location.
Where do we start? With sin. You must see your sins and understand why you go to them before you can flourish. This is foundational because sin is the very thing that hinders flourishing. Why? Because it interrupts God’s design.
Think back to the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned. What was it that fractured the perfect relationship between God, nature, and man? Sin. Rebellion. Distrust. When Adam and Eve decided to go their own way (sin), instead of God’s way. They broke from that flourishing path, and so it has been every day since. Sin always fractures Godly flourishing. It only makes since that turning back to the right way, which is repentance, would line us back up with the way God intended us to live.
If we want to flourish in this life we must be at war with our sinful tendencies. Dig into your sins and you will find your own heart desiring the path of sin. Why? Because that path seems easier and seems to offer more pleasure than God’s path. So we take it. This is the heart of every rebellious thought or action in you and I. We think our way is better than the way prescribed by God, so we will go our way instead of His. Wasn’t it the same with Adam and Eve?
Backwards is forwards
With this foundation, do you see what Psalm 1 is showing us about our hearts? The way to flourishing is to deny our initial desire for our own path, and to line ourselves up with God’s. The way to live in God’s design, which always leads to flourishing, is by hating sin. Killing sin, going against our initial desires. Renouncing our old ways and submitting to His. This is what repentance is. Turning around. The way backwards is forwards.
This is counter cultural. This is Kingdom minded.
what not to do
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
Psalm 1 continues by listing three things the man who is flourishing does not do. He speaks in the negative to help us consider three thoughts as we attempt to line ourselves back up with this path of God’s design:
1- What influences your life?
We flourish as humans when we do not walk in the counsel of the wicked. When what we allow to counsel us, influence us, and inform us is lined up with God’s way of living. The Psalmist is begging us to consider- What in your life influences you to not follow God’s way? This is a pressing question in our digital age. The content we consume has a profound influence on our hearts affections and actions. What we see, what we read, and what we listen to. As well as those we surround ourselves with. Are the influences in your life leading you down the path of flourishing? Or detracting you?
2- we drift into idleness
The next line states: “Nor stands in the way of sinners”. Notice the poetic form of progression here. First, the man was walking, now he is standing in the way of sinners. He is slowing from a state of motion to a state of idleness.
What we allow to influence us, both in content and in people, lead us to drift in both helpful and unhelpful ways. Much like teeth that are freshly formed by braces drifting back to their old pattern, so we are prone to drift. If the influences in our lives are not aligned with or pushing us towards God’s way of living, we will eventually become idle in our Christian walks.
As anyone who hasn’t worn their retainer for months or years knows, teeth don’t change overnight. But over months with slow and incremental shifts they drift back to their original orientation. So it is with us in our spiritual lives. It is small and incremental changes and influences that set the trajectory of our spiritual lives.
No one ever drifts into holiness or spiritual flourishing. It is conscious, daily, decisions that lead to growth. One night of wearing my retainer does not properly align my teeth. But night after night of faithfulness does.
The Psalmist is asking us to consider, Has your walking in sinful influences caused you to stand (become idle) in your spiritual life? Or in a more positive form, what are you doing to set a proper spiritual trajectory with todays decisions? If we want to flourish we will consider where we are drifting and what influences are causing us to drift both in healthy and unhealthy ways. What habits can you build into your life for Godly influence?
3- Have you Compartmentalized any part of you?
In the third line of what the Psalmist is telling us the flourishing person does not do, we find our test subject sitting amongst scoffers.
Scoffers are people who feel superior than others because of their knowledge and mindset. Think of the suburban family who sells all of their possessions and moves into a remote doomsday bunker. They scoff at those who live so blindly to the dangers of the world. And their neighbors laugh and scoff at them for acting so counter-cultural.
The imagery the Psalmist is trying to get us to see here is one of acceptance. Our proverbial man has progressed from walking to sitting. He has fully accepted and embraced the sinful ways. Influences lead to trajectories which change our viewpoints. And this is precisely what has happened to our man. He is now sitting, pointing his finger and laughing at all of those who are walking a different path than him. Why? Because he knows better than they, or so he thinks. His way is easy. His way is more pleasurable. His way requires no sacrifice, no self-control, and no commitments. He is free to do with his life as he pleases with no one in authority above him.
How silly the ones who follow God’s way are, he scoffs. They are missing out.
You might have difficulty associating with this form of sinfulness. “I don’t scoff at Christian values” you might say. But we are prone to compartmentalize our hearts. We walk the path of flourishing in stewarding our money, but scoff at the path of purity. Now, we would never scoff like this with our words. But do you see that deep down, when you harbor secret sin, you are scoffing? Remember, scoffing is a stance of acceptance. To walk the path of obedience and flourishing is to give all of our heart to God. Where in your life have you kept a part of your heart compartmentalized from God? You can obey God with 95% of your heart and scoff at him with the other 5%.
Consider these things.
The paradox of flourishing
Do you want to flourish in life? Then take stock of the influences you allow to persuade you. Consider the trajectory you set with your decisions. And examine your heart for compartmentalized acceptance of sinful ways.
There is an inherent paradox with the way God has designed the faithful way of living and being in this world. We are prone to think we will be happier if we had no authority over us and if we could be free with indulging our passions and pleasures. But the way the Psalmist is painting the picture of flourishing is quite different. He says, do you want to flourish? Then don’t go the way your sinful heart is often inclined to.
God is not against our pleasure with his laws and commands, but for them! He designed everything. He designed love, sex, money, relationships. Does the engineer know more about the inner workings of a complex machine than the operator? And yet how often do we tend to belittle God’s glory and name because we, the mere operators think we know better?
Seek purity, even though it is costly. Pursue selfless living, rather than selfishness. Give, more than you take. Be a servant in your leadership. Seek to help others thrive and flourish. Follow God’s way of doing things and in so doing you will be lining yourself up with the original way of doing things, like God designed it. Flourishing.
Take some time to meditate on these truths today.
Walking with you,
Josh.
The act of remembering what God has done and thanking Him for it builds our faith.