May 9, 2018
Psalm 1:4-6…“for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” vs. 6
The psalmist’s world was a bit more black and white than we’re sometimes comfortable with. We tend to see people as more of a gray, a mixture between good and bad, and when our scripture paints a more decisive picture we want to protest. Some solve the issue by ignoring the passages in question and focusing on those whose perspective more closely represents their world view. There’s a cost to that kind of censorship though, and those sanitized scriptures will lack depth and perspective. Even if we don’t agree with this psalmist there is much truth in what he says. No matter how we might parse human behavior, in the end we are left with two possibilities: either we serve God or we don’t! The psalmist says there is no middle ground, and he firmly believes that those who serve God will be protected by God, and those who don’t serve God are doomed. We can call him simplistic if we wish, and come up with all kinds of exceptions to his rule, but he has a point. Sooner or later, as we move through life, there come moments for decision–will we choose to stand on the good or evil side? We won’t always be able to waffle in the middle, new occasions will force our hand and we’ll have to declare ourselves. And with our decision, will come a consequence, whether we like it or not.
Thought for the Day: When forced to take a stand, what did I decide?
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