Counsel and Seats Psalm 1:1 August 21, 2018

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 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 ESV) 

At first reading, this verse appears to caution against prolonged relationships with a person or persons who are not followers of Christ.  There is no way, of course, we can only interact or work with only fellow believers.  In fact, that would be contradictory to the whole premise of the Great Commission.

When David penned these words thousands of years ago, these wicked influences and interactions with sinners and scoffers were primarily face-to-face.  There was the written word, but only the religious hierarchy and wealthy had access to scrolls and parchments.  So if you were just careful who you when with to the beach at the Sea of Galilee on weekends and shared coffee with at Star (of David) Bucks, you could pretty much avoid the wicked, sinners, and scoffers.  That is much more of a challenge today.

Starting in the 1940s with the advent of commercial television broadcasts to today's explosion of information via the internet and now streaming, we don't even have to leave our homes to interact with and be influenced by the very people and ideas David warned us about all those years ago.

As a principal, I have many times encouraged parents to get to know their child's friends.  Napoleon Hill, author of "Think and Grow Rich" wrote, "We become who we hang out with."  And while this is still true today, it is easier than ever to hang out with negative influences even with we are alone.

The way of sinners and seat of scoffers can now be a laptop, smartphone or iPad.  Pray for wisdom and discretion when selecting not only friends but also websites and downloads.