Choices

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish. – Psalm 1.1-6

Right from the very start, from the instant that Eve met the serpent at the tree man’s life has been a choice of two ways. Eve faced a choice of obeying God and enjoying His paradise or listening to Satan and facing ruin.

And she chose wrongly. She chose the serpent’s way and every person born since has suffered the consequences.

It didn’t take long for the next poor choice to happen. Adam and Eve’s sons offered sacrifices to God. Abel’s was accepted and Cain’s was not. Cain could have chosen make his sacrifice right, but he chose to get angry and kill his brother instead.

And that pattern has continued time after time after tragic time. When men have the chance to choose between God’s way of righteousness and the ungodly way we too often choose the wrong way.

Psalm 1 paints a wonderful picture of the result of the two choices.

One way is like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither. The other is like the chaff which the wind drives away. One’s eternity will be blessed by God; the other’s is the way of death.

For us as believers our eternal fate is secured, but far too often we mimic the way of the ungodly. We can find ourselves living dry and fruitless lives because we make the wrong choices. Instead of lives of peace we choice to let ourselves be caught up in all the troubles of this world. 

Two choices with two paths – why do we so often make the wrong choices?