Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather. – Psalm 1:1, Amplified Bible (AMP)

If we are running short on blessings in our lives, we should consider why that is the case. One reason may be because we have chosen to delight ourselves in the ways of sinners and scorners rather than in the ways of God.

Upon self-examination, many Christians would claim that they do a pretty good job of avoiding the paths that sinners and scorners walk. As one friend of mine puts it, “They don’t drink, smoke, chew (tobacco), or run around with girls (or boys) that do.” But active participation in evil is not the only thing that Psalm 1 warns about. Psalm 1 also warns us not to surround ourselves with the influences of sinners and scorners, for even if we don’t actively participate in their sin now, we will absorb their way of thinking over time. As we absorb their way of thinking, we will eventually give in to the temptation to act the way they act, and both our thoughts and behaviors will become abhorrent to God.

“But I DON’T surround myself with sinners and scorners!”, we protest. Oh, really? Now this is where the Holy Spirit likes to meddle with the things we love. What kind of television shows do we watch? What kind of movies do we consume? What kind of music do we allow into our minds? What kinds of books do we read for fun?  What websites do we peruse on the Internet? What kinds of video games do we partake in? So much of what Christians passively consume through entertainment media is saturated with evil, including (but not limited to) vile language, wicked immorality, blasphemy against God, glorification of alchohol and substance abuse, praise of pride, promotion of greed, approval of gluttony (which means lack of self-control), and senseless violence (one of the main reasons God destroyed the world in Noah’s day). None of these things please God. All of these things anger Him. And we wonder why we lack blessings in our lives? It is often because we have chosen to fill our minds and hearts with the things of this world rather than with the things of God. While we do so, God will justly limit the blessings He gives us.

Many of us would never let people into our homes and into our lives who act the way the characters in our favorite entertainment outlets act.  Yet we do befriend such people, and we do let them into our homes all of the time – through TV, radio, books, the Internet, etc. When we do so we are passively absorbing wicked ways of thinking, and the more we absorb, the more prone we are to give into temptations to behave wickedly.  It’s time to stop filling our minds and hearts with the world. It’s time instead to fill our minds and hearts with the things of God. Could you imagine what this world would be like if we Christians spent as much time studying the Bible as we do entertaining ourselves with vile imaginations? We’d see grand-scale revival, we’d see the world tranformed for Christ, and the blessings we would enjoy would be innumerable.

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