It was not good enough that he would be a king of Narnia. He wanted to be the king. It was not good enough to enjoy the bounty of the forest around him and eat of the generosity of the forest animals, Edmund, a character from CS Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Edmund wanted the White Witches’ Turkish delight. His choices to fall to the temptation of power and selfishness, led him to betray his brothers and sisters and led to many good animals being turned into stone. And instead of ruling as king of his castle, he became a prisoner in the castle and was left alone, afraid and full of guilt over what he had done. It was only through the grace showed to him by Aslan was he forgiven and restored back to his family and his throne.
It is hard to believe but it is almost the end of the year. We have been working through Psalm 1 as the lense that we can put on to see clearly what is happening in the world around us. Let’s take one more look through the glasses of Psalm 1. Here is the last lesson from Psalm 1.
You and I live in a world that is marching towards destiny
Our world has a beginning and an end, there is an eternity. Judgment is coming. We will give an account for every word, whether it is good or worthless. There is a holy, righteous God who is the judge. You see if there is no eternity then the game is get as much pleasure and comfort in the here and now, because that would be all we have, but there is an eternity. The world around us says that is not true, the Bible is wrong. There is no God who judges. There is nothing after you die. Live for the moment. The world says everything is OK. If you think I am making this up, here is an example. How many of you saw the movie Zootopia? It is about a cute little bunny that leaves the country to become a cop in a big city. One of the characters in the movie is a pop singer who sings the theme song of the movie. Do you remember what the name of the song is? “Try Everything”. Try, everything? Really? Everything? I won’t know if its good or bad until I try it and decide for myself. That is a worldview that says, there is no eternity, you are in charge and you can decide what is right for you. Just need to try it and see. Psalm 1 slams the door on that worldview and says
“For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
We obey God’s word because that is the way of the righteous and we want to stand in the day of judgment. We hear all around us a different message that tells us to try everything, do what you want right now, you are in control, and there are no consequences that really matter. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
The world offers a “try everything” worldview as its Turkish delight, where you can be king or queen of your kingdom but Psalm 1 says if you follow that path your life will amount to chaff, which the wind will blow away. You will want more but will never be satisfied. You can’t play enough video games, or eat enough food, or have enough toys, or have enough friends, or watch enough TV or have a long enough summer to fill that void in your heart. There is only one place where your heart can find delight, find peace and be satisfied.
We were not made to figure out life on our own. To go around looking for things to satisfy the longings of our heart. We have been given Psalm 1 because it has the recipe on how to be satisfied. Has the counsel of this world influenced you? Are you drawn to things on your device, TV, movies that are not honoring to God? Do you look to relationships-parents, teachers, friends, classmates, for your identity? Is your comfort more important than obeying right away with a happy heart? Do you honor yourself instead of loving your neighbor? All of this will leave you empty. The call from Psalm 1 is to delight in God’s word and to sink your roots deep in the wisdom of the Bible.
You are not on this earth to serve yourself and do what you think is right. Here it is,
you were given life and breath to give glory to God.
That should move and motivate you. God knows what is best for you. You were created to depend on Him and His word, not yourself and your own understanding. He is the only one who can satisfy your heart. As we close the book on Psalm 1, we should stand back and be in awe of the stunning wisdom of the bible. How a Psalm written over 1,000 years ago still applies to every one of us, every day, every minute and every fiber of your life and mine. My challenge to you starting now and into this summer is to spend the time delighting in God’s Word and then follow it, obey it, and I assure you, God will be glorified in your life and you will be satisfied.