“Does it ‘pay’ to be good?” If we try to live our life intentionally and follow God’s ways are we rewarded? In today psalm 1 we are told that if we follow God’s ways we will be blessed (happy). But in today’s world we often ask whether or not the bad guys get away with it, while the good guys suffer. We may bring modern day examples like “those who wear masks and keep social distancing might get Covid 19” while “those who don’t wear masks and keep distancing don’t.” Of course, in these cases we ourselves always serve as the one(s) who decide who is good or bad. This psalm says that there is an outside criterion for good and bad—the Torah-- which means the instruction of God (narrowly called the law). If we follow God’s instruction Psalm 1 says over the long haul in this world we will be blessed. We might not be the wealthiest or the most social, but we will be “like a tree who always has water.” We will have “life” in all of its fullest. When we add to this the promises of Jesus’ beatitudes in Matthew 5 we are assured that it is worth following the ways of God.
We are beginning two weeks of reflections upon the psalms. So today a paragraph of introduction can direct our reflections throughout. The first two verses of Psalm 1 really serve as an introduction to all 150 psalms. As such it directs us to follow the way of wisdom, of which the Psalms are a part (along with Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs). Many of the psalms were written by individuals and many others were used in the church as prayers or songs. The psalms have been called both the prayer book and the song book of the Bible. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian martyr during Nazi Germany, wrote a little book called Prayerbook of the Bible (1940). In it he listed psalms of creation, the law (Psalm 1 is one), the history of salvation, the Messiah, the Church, Life, Suffering, Guilt, Enemies and the End. During the next two weeks we will sample one from each of his categories, as well as a few others.
Although I have often asked “is it worth being good?” I believe it is worth it to the bottom of my heart. Certainly, being disciplined about looking for God’s ways in all things help us in a time like this. We will be like a tree and not like dry grass or chaff that flies away in the wind. And, rather than deciding about others, why not let God decide in the end?
Pastor Roger
