Blessed

When I was young I was encouraged to memorize Scripture. Preferably large amounts. (We were fond of John 11:35, for instance, because "Jesus wept" was easy and we had memorized Scripture!) So there were passages like Psalm 139 and James 1 to memorize. And Psalm 1. It starts out like this.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. (Psa 1:1-2)

We have here two approaches. One is positive and one is negative. The man who is blessed^[1] by God delights and meditates in God's law (positive) and avoids the counsel, the path, and the seat of those opposed (negative).

Now, in theory, we all might nod and agree. I mean, it's not hard to see, right? So why is it that we routinely spend so much time in the place that we can rationally and biblically see we shouldn't? Christians today are deciding their strategies for life -- health, finances, careers, morality, worldview, etc. -- based on "the counsel of the wicked". Most of the questions I get from Christians -- you know, the "puzzlers", those ticklish questions that they just can't seem to get around and that threaten their faith -- come from "the seat of scoffers". And how many do you know that have bought into "you should certainly try living with a person before you marry them to see if they're the right one" kind of thinking? Just an example of "the path of sinners". More and more Christians are having their life views and strategies informed by the world. Rather than God's version of right and wrong, we're switching over to the world's moral values du jour built on the counsel of the wicked, the path of sinners, and the seat of scoffers. Churches and Christian organizations will hire consultants and adopt strategies for growth based on the practices of the world. Marketing strategies, websites, technology, entertainment, social media, a concert atmosphere of worship rather than a worship atmosphere, self-help sermons, make things "cool" and "hip" (substituting, of course, the current vernacular for such concepts) ... there is a host of popular practices informed by the world and not the Word. And we're thinking they're Christian ideas and practices.

So we nod and agree that the way to be blessed is to delight in God's Word and we delight instead in the counsel of the wicked. We affirm fully that the way to receive God's favor is to delight in God's law and we embrace, on the side, the path of sinners. We are certain that delighting in God's ways is the path to blessedness and find ourselves sitting with scoffers instead. And let me ask a pointed question. Do we even have a concept of what it means to meditate on God's law, let alone "day and night"?

Maybe America's Christians need to start with repentance. Maybe we need to not stop there. Maybe we need to memorize and meditate on Psalm 1. For starters (Rom 12:1-2).
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^[1] "Blessed" is a much richer term than the modern "happy". It refers to divine delight. In the Jewish mind at the time, "blessed" was contrasted with "cursed", where "blessed" was embodied in the concept that God had His face turned toward you (Num 6:24-26). It is not merely happiness, but God's favor.