Three Don'ts of a Blessed Life

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;

Psalm 1:1

In the middle of our Bibles we have the songbook of the OT believer. In it we find all different kinds of psalms that were sung in their worship services, songs of praise, songs of lament, thanksgiving songs, and some songs that were written to instruct God’s people. Psalm 1 is one of these last types. It lays out for the believer how to have a blessed life and in the very first verse gives us three don’ts to attaining that life.

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked." 

The blessed man doesn't take advice from wicked people. Let me ask, who do you take advice from? If you remember the story of Solomon’s son Rehoboam, then you know that the counsel we accept often determines our fate (I Kings 12). We often end up becoming like those we follow, so don’t let wicked people tell you how to think or what to do. Listen to the counsel of the righteous, instead. Take counsel from God’s Word.

"[He] does not stand in the way of sinners."

What paths are you walking? We're blessed when we do not live like the wicked live. So don’t frequent the places or activities the wicked frequent. "But Jesus hung out with sinners," you might object. While Jesus was a companion of sinners, He interacted with them when they were not engaging in their sinful ways. He didn’t frequent brothels or temples of pagan gods! He spoke to them in the marketplace and out on mountain sides and by the sea shore. Jesus steered far clear of their wicked paths and so should you. Don’t do what the wicked person does and somehow fool yourself into thinking you are any different from them.

"[He] does not sit in the seat of scoffers."

Notice here the progression in his path toward wickedness. First he merely walked by the wicked. He doesn’t tarry but is there long enough to just hear their thoughts on a subject. He "walks in their counsel." Then he grows accustomed to them and their thinking and he "stands among them" in their way of life though he is still somewhat set apart. And in the end where do we find him but sitting down, settling in among them. Here we see that by virtue of taking their advice and hanging around them, over time this young man has begun to think like them. Their worldview has become his worldview. The way of the righteous person seems odd and foreign to him now. And so He joins in with the wicked in mocking God’s people and God’s ways. He is now one of them, whether he admits it or not.

Consider your own life. Look back at where you were 5 or 10 years ago and see where you are now. Are you more like Jesus or the world now than you were then? Are your beliefs more in keeping with the Bible or with the world? Are you walking, standing, or sitting in the way of wicked men?