When walking, standing, and sitting can get a person into trouble

By Dean Collins

My Apple Watch is always nudging me to get more steps. Again and again I hear the ding telling me I’ve been sitting too long and I need to stand up. And at the end of the day, if I succeed in standing in every hour, I am rewarded with a tiny electronic congratulations for my small success. I realize my phone is only encouraging me to abide by what the research suggests: I will be healthier if I stand and walk instead of sitting most of the day.

I haven’t always counted my steps. But I will confess that long before it became fashionable to wear devices that count steps I was conscious of making sure I walked or ran a minimum distance every day. Remembering to move has kept me generally healthy. Right actions have led to a fit body.

Actions to avoid

God’s followers know something similar about spiritual health. For centuries, faithful Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms and have discovered in the very first Psalm the clear choices that will determine both our happiness and the ultimate outcome of our life. The psalmist didn’t have technology to send tiny electronic pulses to nudge him about behaviors that lead to happiness and wholeness, but he did give us some clear directions on what to do and and what not to do for our spiritual fitness each day.

Psalm 1 opens with a declaration that our happiness is connected to, even determined by, our actions. The psalmist gives three specific actions we must not do if we want to have the life God wants to give us.

1) Don’t walk in the counsel of the wicked.
2) Don’t stand in the way of sinners.
3) Don’t sit in the way of scoffers.

The psalm acknowledges that we will get our instruction somewhere. At birth we don’t possess all the information we need for life, but we have access to vast amounts of knowledge and wisdom as we grow. In the best situations we have parents who train and teach us. But not everyone had the best parents or best training. And even when we had good parents, we soon discovered we can’t depend on them to teach us forever. Eventually we become responsible for our lives and our actions. At the end of life we will not be judged by others or by God based on what our parents did or didn’t do. The final assessment is an individual one.

Instructions to obey

We can, however, find divine instructions in God’s Word. If we value and even delight in the instructions given by our Creator, then our pathway and our outcomes will bring us satisfaction and flourishing. To illustrate this point the psalmist compares us to a tree planted by streams of water. The tree apparently doesn’t try to be anything other than what she was created to be. No straining. No wandering off to the barn trying to be a chicken or a goat. The tree simply allows its roots to tap into the supply of nutrients and nourishment provided by the nearby soil and water. The result is a healthy tree that produces fruit and then, at the right time, rests from fruit bearing.

Producing good fruit

According to Psalm 1, a person can similarly gain nourishment and become productive by staying in contact with the life of God. The psalmist indicated that the instructions of God will not only point us on the right path but produce the right actions. Jesus explained it this way;

1) My Father is the gardener.
2) I am the vine.
3) We are the branches.

If we stay connected to the vine then we have all we need. Nourishment is provided and fruit is produced. And in both the Old Testament Scriptures and the New Testament Scriptures, the fruit aways demonstrates the righteousness of God. God’s righteousness is just and filled with love, mercy, and grace.

We do well to remember not to take advice from or follow those who are not gaining their wisdom from God. Sadly, I realize how easy it is to be found walking and standing with those not aligned with Jesus. The evidence is in the vast amount of scoffing many of us do with each other and, worse, publicly in social media. That kind of behavior does not originate from above. I suspect God might do some necessary pruning if we will deepen our roots in Jesus and his Word. The result of good pruning and proper nourishment will be an abundance of good fruit and a lifestyle of joy and happiness.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭1:1-3; John 15: 1-11 ESV‬‬

Photo by Tom Rogerson on Unsplash