”Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
Psalm 1:1New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 1:1 Devotional
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
Psalm 1:1 informs you and me that the “one who does not walk in step with the wicked is blessed“. That is, the one who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or live by the advice of those who reject God and His Word. For the wicked do not fear God and His Word.
Choice
Consequently, the Psalmist presents you and me with a choice. And this is the choice that every person must make. That is to either take the way of the righteous, which leads to blessings, or the path of sinners, which ends in destruction.
Don’ts
Therefore, the first verse is the first of six verses instructing you and me to not:
- draw wisdom from the “counsel of the ungodly”,
- hang out with the ungodly and make them your constant companions, thus, joining in their behavior, and
- degenerate into a mocker of God (that is not to be “scornful”).
Consequently, the Psalmist calls you and me to avoid the progressions of ungodliness. For it starts with taking their advice and ending up mocking God.
Therefore, you are to reject the understanding of the ungodly. And the Psalmist categorically instructs us to avoid any voice (influence) that might shape or direct our way of life toward godlessness (unrighteousness). For it is better to stop the degeneration into ungodliness at the very first level, the level of taking up ungodly advice.
Quest for knowledge and wisdom
Moreover, most often than not, we subconsciously gain wisdom from sources that don’t acknowledge God. After all, the world that we live in is mostly secular.
Therefore, the problem with these worldly sources is that they don’t have any understanding of what is right or wrong, or importantly, what is truth. And they usually push certain wicked agendas that are associated with certain influential world leaders.
Yet God desires that you and I walk in the light (Ephesians 5:7-14). And therefore Solomon reveals that wisdom is readily available (Proverbs 1:20-22).
Therefore, when you listen to them, you can gain knowledge and understanding, but it is always unrighteous in nature. And it is simply because these sources don’t possess the ultimate wisdom, which is from God (Proverbs 2:6-8).
Walking in righteousness
Furthermore, walking in righteousness is a prerequisite for experiencing a blessed (happy) life as described in Psalm 1:1 (Proverbs 3:13). And Paul teaches us to pray so that we are not led down the wrong path as “knowledge puffs up” (1 Corinthians 8:2).
Therefore, who you are listening to and associating with is so important. Because we need godly wisdom to live by. And Proverbs 3:7 advises you to “not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil”.
Associating with sinners
But are these verses then instructing us not to associate with sinners? Not really. And from the Gospels, we can observe that Jesus hung out with the sinners of His day – the tax collectors and even the “questionable” women.
But Jesus did it to redeem them, not to gain their supposed “wisdom”. And that is what differentiates how Jesus associated with sinners versus how we do.
Additionally, when you associate with sinners, they’re likely to influence you in their ways. This is because the world is largely sinful (Romans 3:23).
Illustration
Consequently, I like to use the illustration where you are at the edge of a pit and sinners are in a pit. And you will realize that it’s harder for you to pull them all up/out and easier for them to pull you down/in.
Do not be unequally yoked
Moreover, Paul commands you and me not to be unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14). That is, Paul commands you and me not to spend most of our social time with non-believers. And he adds that “bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
Finally, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews exhorts you and me to “not give up meeting together” as believers (Hebrews 10:25). This is a discipline that will enable us to “not walk in step with the wicked”.
Prayer/Blessing
May you not walk in the ways of the ungodly in Jesus” Name. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading
Exodus 23-25 (see How to Read the Bible in One Year or How to Read the Bible (for Beginners))
