Psalm 1 (a psalm about good vs evil)
The psalms start off with Good vs Evil
1 Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
2 Their delight is in the law of the Lord, *
and they meditate on his law day and night.
3 They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *
everything they do shall prosper.
4 It is not so with the wicked; *
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *
nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, *
but the way of the wicked is doomed.
Good vs evil. This theme is everywhere in our lives. It is in the movies we watch, stories we tell and books we read. Why is this story told over and over? Because it is in our nature.
We call it good and evil. This passage calls it righteous and wicked. Paul refers to it as flesh and spirit. Plato saw it as the mind and the body. Whatever we want to call it, this battle has been going on since the world began.
The Choice and the Choosing
We all believe we are on the side of good. Yet we all know that the temptation to do evil is always right there. We all know that doing good is the right thing. Yet we often find ourselves choosing evil. The choice between good and evil is simple. The choosing is hard.
This psalm reminds me of Jesus sermon on the mount. It makes it so simple to see the outcome of good verses evil. But anyone who tries to do good knows that the simplicity belies the difficulty. The rationalizations for doing wicked and denying good are never ending.
My Struggle
The times when I got caught up doing something underhanded resonate with verses 1-3. When I listen to my own bad ideas I find myself stressed and anxious. I worry about getting caught. Self-destructive thoughts begin to whisper. Hiding and lying about my real motives becomes my MO.
Contrast that with the times I don’t give in to my own foolishness. Often when I am accountable I am more likely to avoid following bad ideas. When I stay focused on win-win situations, I am happier and less stressed.
We Need Reminding
This psalm reminds us that good always wins over evil. We need voices like this in our lives. When we look around it isn’t always obvious that good is winning. Because evil tends to shout louder, we tend to hear that voice. Everything from our government to our corporations to our sports team seemed to have succumbed to evil. I’m grateful for the reminder that in the end, good is the victor.