"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked..." says the author of Psalm 1. But the Psalmist considers more: what it is to not walk in the counsel of the wicked.
Our personal worlds are often swarmed with "stinging" attractions of every sort. Within and without the ordinary and common, the pursue us. They are no strangers to notoriety or obsurity. Both the rich and poor are not outside their reach. But their sting is often subtle, and subtle in a way that only the alert can sense it.
In this state, the Psalmist's words are a fitting reminder of what is most important: a way to attain the one condition of our hearts that we are often inclined to give much or our all for. The word "blessed" is synomymous to happy. Happiness is an essential quest of the human heart. In our fast-paced journey along life's tracks and alleys, we are stung in our quest for happiness aware. It can be a morally-sensitive individual being bombarded with images beyond the pale. It may be an economically-challenged person being lured to buy a commodity beyond his or her budget. The list goes on. And at the nexus of all their lures and their impacts, the quest for happiness abounds. The Psalmist instructs, yet warns us, that to be happy, we must pepper and season our lives with a consideration that is more than lofty: the consideration to reach beyond our ordinary reaches and lay our hands and hearts on that which answers our quest.
We must forsake certain things, and we pursue certain things. We must resist certain things, and we must welcome certain things. We must use discipline -- the discipline to say "no" to some things and some people and say "yes" to some things and some people. Specifically, the Psalmist calls us to pursue God's ways. Those are the ways that lead to happiness along life's fast-paced tracks and alleys.
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