Psalm 1:6
For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
There are one of two ways everyone walks in, the way of the righteous or the way of the ungodly. It matters not which way you choose to walk; you will make people upset with you; therefore, it is better to choose the right way and please God than to choose the ungodly way and please man.
Psalm 1 shows how to choose between these ways. Your desire ought to be to choose the way of the righteous. When God says the way of the righteous, He is not saying that nobody has walked this way before; rather, He is saying those who have lived a righteous life have already trodden the path that we are to take. It is not guesswork to choose the way of the righteous because we already have their lives as an example. You must protect four things if you are to walk the righteous way.
First, you must protect your associations. Psalm 1:1 says, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. The words walketh, standeth, and sitteth are associations. If you don't keep the right associations, you will not walk the way of the righteous. You cannot live a righteous life and walk with unrighteous people. You cannot run with the ungodly crowd and walk in the way of the righteous at the same time. Your associations determine the path you walk.
Second, you must protect your desires. Verse 2 says, But his delight is in the law of the LORD. The word delight is talking about desires. You will not have the desires of the LORD when you are walking with the wrong people. Having the right desires comes down to choosing to do the right things. Your desires will change when you choose to serve the LORD. Your desire should be to do the will of God in every area of your life. If you don't want to get the wrong desires, then you should not be in the places that would tempt you to change your desires. You will keep yourself in the way of the righteous if you keep your desires righteous.
Third, you must protect your thought life. Verse 2 continues to say, in his law doth he meditate day and night. Your thought life will be what it ought to be when you avoid the wrong crowd. Be careful not to expose yourself to the wrong things that would create wrong desires. Your thought life is critical to walking in the way of the righteous. What you think today is where you will walk tomorrow. Therefore, you must protect your thoughts from the wrong thoughts so you don't walk in the wrong way tomorrow. You will never leave the way of the righteous if you keep your thoughts right.
Fourth, you must protect your decisions. Verse 3 says, And he shall be like a tree planted…. You must settle that you will walk in the way of the righteous if you are to be planted in those ways. In other words, stop looking for something else and get busy walking in the way of the righteous. Plant yourself in doing right; never consider doing something else, and walking in the way of the ungodly will never be a consideration. Walking in the way of the righteous is a daily decision to say, today, I choose to serve the LORD. Your decisions are affected by your thought life, which are affected by your desires, which are affected by your associations. Keep your associations right, and you will walk in the way of the righteous.
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