Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Delight or Destruction

I was thinking about Psalm 1 this morning.

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. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalms 1:1-6
Where do we walk, where do we stand and where do we sit? Who and what do we hang out with? Where do we find delight? Who do we fellowship with? What do we meditate on?

As I look at the contrast between hanging out with the wicked, the sinners and the scoffers versus delighting in the law of the Lord I think it is either one or the other. If we are delighting in God’s word we will not put ourselves in compromising situations. If we are enjoying the bad company then we won’t be in God’s word.

I know many people say we need to be engaged with unbelievers but I think the problem comes when the relationship switches from evangelism to a peer relationship. Scripture is clear in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that bad company corrupts good morals.

I don’t think is just speaks of people either. Television and movies are a great source of wickedness, sin and scoffing. It is the fool who thinks they can watch the latest and greatest Hollywood has to offer and not be changed for the worse.

An Eskimo fisherman came to town every Saturday afternoon. He always brought his two dogs with him. One was white and the other was black. He had taught them to fight on command. Every Saturday afternoon in the town square the people would gather and these two dogs would fight and the fisherman would take bets. On one Saturday, the black dog would win; another Saturday the white dog would win - but the fisherman always won! His friends began to ask him how he did it. He said, "I starve one and feed the other. The one I feed always wins because he is stronger.
From "The Holy Spirit: Activating God's Power in Your Life," by Billy Graham (1978)
The benefit of hanging out in God’s word is clear. There will be good fruit, endurance and prosperity. The choice should be easy yet the call of the world and its delights is loud and unending. Only one is going to win.

Philip

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