Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…
Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear
We are bombarded by voices. There are voices of the salesmen. There are voices of politicians. There are voices of 24 hour news channel hosts and radio shock jocks. There are voices from the past. There is the voice of our own interior dialogue. These voices, and so many others, demand our attention and call for us to listen to them.
The opening lines of the Psalter begin with a statement of what is truly the blessed life. Don’t skip over this. The God of the universe desires to bless us. So intent is He to do this that He reveals something of what true blessedness is. We may be wary of speaking in this way due to perversion of this good news by those who proclaim a false gospel of prosperity or health and wealth. Yet, the Scriptures are clear that God wants good for His people. This is what it means for Him to be for us.
What strikes me is the Psalmist’s declaration that true blessedness is, in part, found in aspects of life we are told to avoid. It is the via negativa, or what being blessed is not. We cannot simply live our lives however we want if we want to experience the life God intends for and offers to us. The struggle is we are often drawn by the remaining corruption in us to these very things. So, we must heed the Psalmist’s warning.
He begins by telling us to avoid the counsel of the wicked. Who do you listen to? Where do you turn for advice? The answer to those questions impacts the quality of our lives. If the main voices you heed are constantly speaking of how bad the world is and how terrible this or that decision will be for your life or how you need to rely on yourself alone and to not trust anyone else, what kind of life will that produce? One full of fear, anxiety, anger, and hatred. Even more so do we need to beware of voices that are actively calling us to rebellious living.
We need wisdom in this matter. We need growing reliance on the Spirit to give us discernment about all these competing voices. Some seek your harm; others your good, and still others are neutral. Who is sufficient for these things, especially when we live in a time of constant noise and speech? This is why, if we truly desire to be blessed, we must train ourselves to listen for and hear the one true voice of the Good Shepherd. He tells us His sheep follow Him for they know His voice (John 10:4).
Saints, who are we listening to? If we spend the majority of our time taking heed of these other voices, we should not be surprised at the outcome. If we listen to voices of fear, anger, and hatred, we will become people of fear, anger, and hatred. Instead, let us give more of our time and attention to the voice of Jesus, a voice of love, joy, and peace. In doing so, we will be blessed with those same qualities, the qualities of the blessed life.
Oh be careful, little saints, to whom you listen!
