Fresh Meat!

~ Psalms 1:1-2

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.

The Problem:

Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. They’re sins! They’re deadly! And there are seven of ‘em! Take your pick! They’re all over the place! Take two, they’re small! Sin sprouts and flourishes in rich abundance across our land. First, we have pride, vain egotism. “It’s all about me! Why doesn’t everyone see that? I’m the only one that matters here!” We humans don’t have to achieve too great a thing before our collective chests puff with pride to show the world, “We’re all that!” By the way, the Bible says: “Got pride? Brace yourself! You’re goin’ down! Soon!”

Next on the list is greed, being covetous and worldly. “What’s mine is mine; what’s yours is mine. I want it all! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” Greed and materialism are next-door neighbors. They live at the end of the same block, showing the world their expensive “toys.”  “Enough” is not in their dictionary.

Then there’s the Number One all-time favorite on Man’s Hit Parade: lust. It’s closely related to greed, but it’s an unscratchable itch on steroids! Formerly practiced covertly, secreted behind closed doors that conveniently never are locked! It has now kicked out those doors and shamelessly stormed from the closet. At this point, I should mention that if you are skilled in the arts of iniquity, you can combine two or more of the above for a composite vice; call it a compound depravity. For example: “Nobody lusts after that better than me!” Pride and lust. See? Two for the price of one! (The Creative Man, indeed!)

Next on the list, Envy peeks her head from around the corner and peers jealously from behind the curtain. William Shakespeare called envy “the green-eyed monster” in Otello. “I so want what you have. It would look much better on me. You don’t deserve that (fill in the blank), I do!”

We also find those driven by gluttony, constantly seeking to satisfy an insatiable hunger beyond necessity. They rehearse their order for excess with the service staff: “Hey, you! Bring me more! A whole bunch more! Don’t stop! Keep it coming! I’ll never say ‘when.’” To paraphrase: “We’re going to need a bigger ‘belt.’” 

Next, there’s anger; easy to define, tough to confine.  Wrath usually lives just beneath the surface. (But you can always tell by the eyes!) It sits there dormant, waiting until the next unfortunate soul has the temerity to cross their will. Lacerating “word wounds” that leave emotional gashes that will never heal! That's rage at its worst!

And finally, in the last position, we have Mr. Sloth. Of course he’s in this position! He’s slow! He's sluggish! He’s in another time zone! He revels in his laziness and finds joy in his lethargy. He’s always late. He’s timed not with a stopwatch but with a calendar! And... he’s even proud of his apathy. There’s another “two-for.”

“Folks! Do you suffer from any of the above iniquities? Is there a history of these immoral diseases in your family? And when was the last time you sat in the seat of mockers? Hmmm?”

The Promise:

Sin is rampant out there. The subsequent bloodshed and carnage litter the world. But if we want God’s blessings and help, we must refuse to walk in their direction! We must walk in the same direction as the One who saved us, the same way Jesus, the Christ walked. We, the faithful, must make a deliberate choice; a conscious decision not to play in the world’s pigpen. We must use our God-granted free will to turn our backs on all that! I know! “Easier said than done!” you say. But I say, “Very doable with His daily grace!”

Study His Word. It’s the user’s manual for our lives. When we do that, God sanctions us. Think about that! He consecrates us, and we are set apart from the rest of the world by the Creator of the Universe. (Mind blown!) His is the only approval we should want, not Man’s! He blesses us because He watches intently when we spend the time to “delight” in His word. “As the deer panteth…” the Psalmist said. Believe me. We won’t have to “pant” too long before we find ourselves being mingled within His Living Word. We can hear the words of God our Father in His message to us. He blesses us mightily when we remain obedient to Him in this way. He certainly knows our weaknesses. But He didn’t put them there. We did that to ourselves, thank you very much! He knew every one of our struggles and temptations. He remembered each of our battle scars as He hung on the cross. He knows all about the above-referenced evils. He’s already written our prescription for a cure for these deadly diseases. It’s in His First Aid kit, the Bible. It should be taken daily, with or without food. It’s best if taken before bedtime. And again, as soon as you wake up. There’s only one side effect: delight! It’s all right there in “The Finer Print.” 

Warning: If you exhibit one or more of these symptoms, you need to turn around and go the other Way. Call 1-800-Give-Me-Grace! Dial that number now! Our lines are always open.

~ Psalms 1:1-2

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.