July 11, 2009

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." Psalm 1

Everyone I know wants to be blessed. In fact, many of them have formed "bless me" clubs. What's a "bless me" club? It is a group of people who chase around looking for the next blessing. They flock to this seminar, or that concert, or the next miracle rally in pursuit of "the blessing". Actually, I am not entirely sure what it is they are seeking, but they seem to think that a blessing is something quite elusive and it is an accomplishment to catch one. It must be worth it when they do.

So, Brad, are you saying you do want to be blessed?

I am not saying that at all. But my Bible reading has me in Psalms 1 this morning and it focuses squarely on the topic of blessings. "Blessed is the man" is how it starts out. As meditated on this short but powerful little chapter, I learned a few things about blessings. If you want to be blessed you need to be "blessable". I thought I would share with you how that happened and you can let me know what you think:

1) "Blessed is....." - A blessing is not something you seek or possess, it is something you are. "Blessed" means "happy". If you only know happiness in fleeting moments that are captured and then lost, you are missing what God intends for you - happiness as a way of life.

2) "who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked...." - If you want to be a blessing and live in contentment and joy, don't listen to people who aren't. One of the marvels of our modern age is that there is now more bad advice that ever, but it can be made available instantly through a variety of sources! You can get it on the Internet, TV, radio, or hanging out with the wrong people.

3) "or stand in the way of sinners..." - If you want to be blessed you act like it. God can't bless sin and sin separates you from the source of blessing. So, if your closest friends are sinners and you continually expose yourself to sinful people and their sinful thoughts and ideas and behaviors - guess what?!

4) "or sit in the seat of mockers." - Blessed people aren't critics or Monday morning quarterbacks. It seems there are more of that sort of person than there used to be. Maybe it is a result of the electronic media and the reality genre that puts you in the role of spectator and judge without actually being involved. It is much easier to sit and pronounce judgments on others that it is to do, the things that make you "blessable". Or, rather than become blessable why not try to drag down others to you unblessable level?

Being "blessable" is something all of us can do. The Psalmist recommends it and shows the way. Becoming "blessable" consists in two parts, what you don't do and what you do. This morning I focused on the don'ts. I'll have more to say tomorrow.

Is there something or someone that is preventing you from being "blessable" right now?