Monday, May 18, 2015

In our last visit we began a study of Psalm 1, using the focus and amplify study method. We saw it is possible to live a God blessed life in a world contaminated by evil. To do so will take both negative and positive discipline. By negative discipline I mean the discipline to avoid certain things. By positive discipline I mean the discipline to acquire what God can and will bless. Verse 1 declares that the man who is blessed avoids “walk(ing) in the counsel of the wicked or stand(ing) in the way of sinners or sit(ting) in the seat of mockers.” Not many of us consciously go to wicked people to seek their counsel. In fact, we would be insulted if accused of doing so. But by living in the world we’re bombarded at every turn by the counsel of the wicked. The way the world thinks pervades society and it’s almost impossible to tune it all out. If you watch any television you’re confronted with this mind-set, if you listen to the radio, if you read the newspaper or popular magazines or books. In most every environment we’re exposed to, the polluting counsel of the wicked almost drowns out sound, wholesome thinking. No wonder Paul wrote in Romans 12:2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world.” I like the way Phillips translated this verse: “Don’t allow the world to push you into its mold!” The pressure to do so is very real. But it is worldly wisdom, not heavenly wisdom. And it must be avoided at all costs. Watch what you listen to. Watch what you look at. It might seem attractive. It might seem tame at first. But beware. Avoid the counsel of the wicked at all costs.