“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” (Psalm 1:1–2)
The blessed person “does not walk in step with the wicked.” The “wicked” are ungodly people, sinners, and those characterized by not following or obeying God.
To not walk in the counsel of the ungodly means to reject any advice from these people. It includes avoiding any influence that might direct one’s way of life toward doing ungodly things. Walking involves progress; as a result the verse instructs us to, “not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.”
The apostle Paul warned, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character’” (1 Corinthians 15:33). And Proverbs 22:24-25 cautions us to “not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.”
A Christian cannot expect to make godly progress if they seek counsel from sinners or make plans with unbelievers: Therefore, “do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
The reason is that the person who chooses the righteous way of life avoids thinking like the ungodly, behaving like the wicked, associating with the godless and doing things that will damn them to an eternity apart from God. Instead, they will “walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).
A believer who chooses not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly will apply biblical truth to their daily life, letting God’s Word be a lamp to guide their feet and a light for their path (Psalm 119:105). Their “delight is in the law of the Lord,” and they “meditates on His law day and night,” (Psalm 1:2). Such a person will grow in faith and spiritual maturity since “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17).
God blesses the steps of the righteous because they “fear the Lord and delight in obeying His commands” (Psalm 112:1). Rather than taking pleasure in sin and the things of the world, they live clean lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people (Philippians 2:15).
The Bible tells us that loving God and obeying His Word will result in abundant blessings because “blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28). And as we read the Scriptures daily, study them, memorize them, and meditate on them many times during the night and day, our thinking changes, and we no longer love the world or the things in it and no longer walk in the counsel of the ungodly. We no longer imitate the behavior of this world; instead, God transforms us by changing how we think. Then we can experience God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will for us (Romans 12:2).
People who walk in the counsel of the ungodly listen to worldly advice, make plans with the wicked, and willfully participate in a sinful way of life. Romans 8:5–7 describes these people as “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.”
God however calls His children to choose the way of righteousness – to be set apart and to be holy. He calls us out of darkness to walk in His light (1 Peter 1:15–16; 2:9). That is the path to the blessings of life and peace.
God helps us in our weakness by giving us His Holy Spirit who reveals the mind of Christ to us and enables us to carry out His will (1 Corinthians 2:14-16; Philippians 2:13). On the other hand, when we suppress the work of the Holy Spirit by rebelling against His will for us, we stifle the design of God, sabotage our own spiritual growth, and grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).
If God was gracious enough to redeem us from sin and death and give us new life in Christ, the very least we can do is offer our lives back to Him in complete surrender and holiness, which is for our benefit (Deuteronomy 10:13). Because of God’s mercies, we should be living sacrifices, “holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1).
For the Christian, the choice is clear. To avoid worldliness, we must mature in the faith, growing up in all things in Christ so that we are no longer spiritual infants, tossed about by the lies of the world (Ephesians 4:14-15). We must come to know the difference between the wisdom of God and the foolishness of worldly wisdom, and that is only achieved by careful and diligent study of the Word, seeking God’s wisdom in prayer (James 1:5), and enjoying the fellowship of other mature believers who can encourage us to reject worldliness and embrace godliness.
Remember that “God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (1 Thessalonians 4:7). He wants us to live a decent life and follow the path of good, which is the one He determined for us. But He gives us free will so that we can do what we want; therefore, impurity is still a possible way. However, it is a path that we should avoid. We should honor the life that God has given us and always seek to live according to His will because, one day, in heaven, we will be free from sin and all its effects. Until then, we “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) and keep running our race by listening and being obedient to our Lord.
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