Psalm 1

"....nor sits in the seat of scoffers" -Psalm 1:1

Do I sit in judgement on others?  It's a difficult question.  Of course, I would prefer to simply say "no."

And how do I reconcile "not judging" with some of the injunctions of the scriptures?  If I am called to repent (John the Baptist's laser cry), then does that not suggest there is a right way to live.  It takes effort to live "right."  It's difficult not to set my right up against my neighbor's right and judge it alongside my own.  In fact, it's easier to judge him than to judge myself.

What does it mean to not sit among the scoffers?

The answer is the focus of my efforts---

"but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night."  Psalm 1:2

The focus is on Him and His law.   When I hear law, I see a policeman with a bat in his hand, but it's not that kind of law.   It's His way.  His principles.  I think of a continual alignment of my life and perspective with His revelation of the principles by which He has built His creation and creatures.

It's the easier road.  Note---not easy, but easier.  Because He designed it, He knows the twists and turns. 

I'm reading a book called Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman.  The book is about different modes of communication through time and how mode affects message.  One interesting claim of his is that our perspective of God has been narrowed by the marking of time by clocks, narrowing our conception of eternity.  I'm not sure I even understand that claim,  but I'm intrigued by the mismatch between of God's perspective of time with our own. I sense its significance in the way we perceive everything.

In this psalm, the blessed man ruminates upon and delights in His timeless principles and law.  We are urged to frame our time-filled lives by a timeless standard.