Day 13: 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, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — whatever they do prospers. Psalm 1:1-3
Sin works like an addiction. Consider the teen who gets high at a party just to see what it’s like. At first it’s just a social thing for fun. He or she might go to a few more parties and enjoy getting high with friends. It’s a recreational and occasional thing. But then something bad happens and that teen feels depressed and just wants to feel good again. The drug starts to become more of a need, because it’s easier to get high than to deal with the depression. Eventually the need turns into an addiction that ruins lives.
I know this is an oversimplification of drug addiction. However, it is a true picture of how sin can work in our lives. Seemingly harmless flirtation turns into adultery. Binge watching a TV show or spending too much time on video games can lead to idleness, avoiding people and responsibilities, and wrecked relationships. Anger and bitterness can lead to fighting, abuse, or worse. Shoplifting could eventually lead to embezzlement. Idle gossip can become vengeful lies and ruined reputations.
The psalmist is getting at this idea when he speaks of walking, then standing, and finally sitting in the muck of sin. The first few times we commit any particular sin, it makes us feel guilty. Our consciences disturb us. However, if we keep doing it, we become more and more comfortable with it, so that it doesn’t seem so much like a sin any more. The line we are unwilling to cross shifts lower. That’s why a person who was uncomfortable with taking his sister’s toy can eventually feel okay with taking a candybar from a store and then maybe some office supplies from work and then maybe some money as well.
This is why we need to fight temptation. Sin can eventually lead us away from God. That is because our consciences will continue to eat at us and we feel the need to justify ourselves. We become uncomfortable with God. We avoid Him. We deny Him. Eventually we may reject Him. All because we don’t want to give up the sin we have grown to love.
Thankfully, God has given a way out. God took on flesh to dwell with us. He walked with the wicked, stood with the sinners, and sat with the mockers. He did not indulge in their sins, but he built relationships with them. He taught them. He forgave them. He carried their sins to the cross and died for them. Remember, the only cure for sin is Jesus who leads us to repentance — confessing our sins and turning to Jesus for forgiveness.
God has given us a way to fight temptation. “Blessed is the one… whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” The word for law there is torah. It doesn’t refer to just the 10 commandments. It returns to all of God’s teaching — Law and Gospel — His Word. The Holy Spirit works through the Word to help us fight temptation. We may reside in the desert of sin and temptation, but our thirst is quenched by the water of the Word, which allows us to thrive and produce the fruit of repentance and faith and good works.
Bible Readings: Psalm 1, Matthew 4:1-17, 1 Corinthians 10:1-14
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