Moving In

Part of my devotional this morning came from Psalm 1:1, which reads, "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."  What struck me about this verse is the progression of sin, the "moving in," if you will.

The warning against sin saturation is not one of falling into sin as if one were minding his own business and stepped into a trap that had been carefully covered.  It is more of one who was first intrigued and then walked right into the trap, eyes wide open, or perhaps "eyes wide shut" as one who is choosing not to see (As an aside, many failed marriages begin this way, not paying attention to the reg flags in the dating period).

The process described in Psalms 1 is that of first "walking" in step with the wicked.  The thought conjured is that of walking along, seeing and hearing what people are up to.  Then one stops to "stand" nearby to get a closer look or hear a bit more of what is going on.  And finally, one pulls up a chair so he can "sit" among them and fully join in the group.

What I have described is the downward spiral of sin but there is also an upward pull of righteousness that works in reverse.  As I continued in Psalm 1, verses 2-3, I read of one who did not follow the path of sin "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers"

The path of righteousness begins with an attraction or "delight" in God's Word that leads to a place where he begins to look closely or "meditates" on it and finally becomes rooted or "planted" in the streams of God's will.  There are two paths, just as Jesus says in Matthew 7:13-14 and we are given the choice of which to to take.

The really good news about the path your are on is two-fold: 1) If you have been taking the path that leads deeper into sin, which results in destruction, you can choose to turn around.  The Bible calls it "repentance" or a change of one's mind.  We don't have to continue just because we started down that path.  You can apply this truth to addictive behavior, adulterous thinking or abusive actions - whatever the sin path, you can choose to turn around.

2) If you have chosen the path of righteousness but don't see the results for which you had hoped, instead are still making bad choices, struggling with bad habits or just acting badly - whatever measuring stick you may be using, you can choose to improve and God will empower you to change, allowing you to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet 3:18).

Choosing a life of righteousness or a life of sin is not simply a one-shot or one-time event.  It is instead much more like moving in.  You don't just show up in your new house one day and magically become settled in - there is a lot of unpacking to do, arranging to manage and putting up to get past before you can finally settle in.  Even then, the process continues as you make changes and additions further down the road.

Either way, until you reach the end of your path, you get to choose and make new choices.  With God's help, you can succeed in righteousness for he will "do more than you can ask or imagine according to his power at work within you" (Eph 3:20).  Jus' Say'n.