Psalm 1:1 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers”
Notice the progression. First, there is WALKING with the wicked. Wicked is a generic word for evil. Walking shows you are moving with it.
But then the person, “stands in the way of sinners.” The word “sinners” is a step further. It is no longer just doing evil, it is associating with it. That’s why they are standing! The person is more involved in it.
But it goes deeper… “nor sits in the seat of scoffers.” The word “scoffers” refers to people who are even more deeply involved in sin. Now they are not just walking together, they are sitting!
In other words, the person has been sucked into sin.
That’s the nature of sin, isn’t it? Our biggest sin problems do not usually start with big sins. Usually, they starts with small things: that small lie, that little outburst, that quick indulgence, that one look.
We start walking with it. Then we stand with it for a little bit. Then finally we sit down with it.
Two years ago, Christian comedian John Crist was getting super popular. Netflix was preparing to air one of his shows. But just before it aired, an article came out about him accusing him of sexual misconduct. He later confessed to struggling with sexual sin.
I don’t know all the details, but I can tell you this: he did not wake up one day and decide to get a woman drunk so he could take advantage of her. It likely start long before that when he began to walk with the sin, then stand with it, and then eventually sit with it.
Sexual sin is the example used here, but it could also be many other sins. Lying, stealing, cheating, indulging in that drink/drug. If you are not careful, you will start to walk with it, then stand with it, and then eventually sit with it.
And we see that a person is BLESSED, when he does NOT do this. So with this in mind, let’s be intentional about NOT letting ourselves get sucked into sin.