“Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked…
but their delight is in the way of the Lord” (Ps 1:1,2)
“Blessed are you who are poor…” (Luke 6:20)
“But woe to you who are rich…” (6:24)
But who is whom, exactly??
Sitting these two passages alongside each other makes for interesting reading. At first glance, it can be very easy to decide which of these applies to ourselves. Or not.
“I don’t follow the way of the wicked. Not like… HIM! (or HER!). Now THAT’s wicked!”
“I’m not rich, so I’m ok there. But HIM and HER, they’ve got a problem! They’re filthy rich.
But the challenge of scripture is, for me, that first glance is almost never enough! It’s pretty much never that simple. And none of us are all good, or all evil, just rich or just poor.
Do I follow the advice of ‘the wicked’? Yes, sometimes. Do I delight in the way of the Lord? Also yes. Am I rich, compared to the man who overtook my bus this week in his Maserati (while using his phone!!)? Possibly not. Am I rich compared with 95% of the rest of the world? Turns out, yes I am.
For me, the question asked by these scriptures, is what I do with them, and how they will shape my living today.
Rod Peppiatt
Pilgrim Launceston Uniting Church