Two Ways To Live: A Fruitful Tree or Wind-Blown Chaff
Choices, Choices, Choices...
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
“How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season
and its leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.” -- Psalms 1:1-6 (CSB)
What Does the Text Say?
There are two ways to live.
There is a need to say “yes” and “no”.
There is a conflict between the two.
There is a tendency to view the wrong way in a positive light.
The true audience and helper in life is the Lord.
Why Is This Important To You?
Having choices is a good thing. Well, in theory anyway. Sometimes having too many choices can be a problem. At least the Psalmist narrows things down to two ways, in other words, one choice!
Some choices are more important than others. Choosing what you wear to begin the day is important, but it’s not as important as what you choose to eat during the day, at least not in the long term.
What you do with your day, 24 hours or 1440 minutes, is one of the most important series of choices you make in your life. The reason I say this is because a day is the DNA or building block of your life.
Some choices are easier to make than others. By definition, making a choice requires you to say “yes” and “no” to someone or something. Saying “yes” too much leads to problems. Saying “no” not often enough also leads to problems. Choices, choices, choices…
Conflict is something most people avoid like the plague! The Psalmist is pointing to a two-fold conflict: from outside yourself and from within yourself.
Culture is a collection of the customs, arts, social institutions, and other manifestations of human achievement that is accepted as being accurate and an improvement upon society at large.
It is the culture within your family, school, workplace, community, church, and society at large that provides a potential “other way” to live. Culture can be as pervasive and involuntary as the air you breathe. In other words, you do not have to plan for it. It is just there.
The conflict within yourself is where you can have a voice and an influence. This conflict represents the decision-making process you go through to make your choices. This is where you build your life, one decision after another.
One of the biggest forces at work within you is the natural tendency to be attracted to that “other way” of the wicked as the Psalmist describes it. The fallen, human nature you were born with is a built-in culture at war against the truth.
The Apostle Paul said it well, “For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate,” -- Apostle Paul, Romans 7:15 (CSB).
The good news is that we have a trusted source for good and truth. As a born-again believer, a term Jesus used, you have the Word of God to speak into your life and guide you in His truth.
Jesus highlighted the fact that he has a way when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” -- John 14:6 (CSB)
The example of the early church is helpful here. How they lived was in stark contrast to the non-believing culture around them, so much so that, “About that time there was a major disturbance about the Way.” -- Acts 19:23 The Way was a reference to the believers. Those around the believers described them by how they lived.
The conflict is real. The choices are powerful. The audience of your life is the Lord himself, not those around you. He is watching. He is leading. Where are you headed?
The warning remains valid, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.” -- Proverbs 14:12 (CSB)
What One Choice Would Redirect Your Life?
What are you tolerating that is in conflict with what the Bible says?
START HERE - In obedience to the clear teaching of the Scripture, submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Donny Crass
Psalm 90:12