Better Resolution

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

My late brother-in-law was a troubled soul who could find very little peace.  Wherever he went, though, he seemed to draw forth sympathy.  He was, if anything, too open and generous.  To a waitress for whom he would leave a tip of twenty or even fifty dollars after a ten-dollar meal, he could come off as creepy, but he meant no real harm.  His main problem was that his mind ran too fast, and any idea seemed like a good idea.  We would take him to church with us on occasion, and the best advice I ever heard him given came from Herb, a deacon rare in the depth of his kindness and breadth of wisdom, who told him to memorize Psalm 1.  “That,” Herb drawled, “is a powerful Scripture.  It’s a powerful Scripture.”

As I may have mentioned before, my tendency to tell stories is honestly derived from my father who was a great storyteller.  He even told them to himself.  I have seen him many times at a distance, carrying a bale of hay to the horses or a bucket of feed to the dogs, talking all the while with not even one of those creatures close enough to hear what was said.  The truth is that I do the same thing myself, and, like Dad, I’m usually not talking out when my lips are moving.  I’m mumbling “under my breath” whatever scenario I am going over.  We would say that we are chewing on it.  I suspect we are not entirely alone in this practice, as “self-talk” is known even among non-hillbillies.   

I can’t help myself.  I don’t even realize I’m doing it most of the time.  Since I am going to do it anyway, I might as well talk about something worthwhile rather than what I’d like to tell the President, the Supreme Court, and a joint session of Congress.  Far better to ponder God’s Word by talking it to myself, for that is what the psalmist meant when he told us to meditate upon the law.  We ought to whisper Scripture to ourselves -- chew it like a cow with a cud, gum it, engage it. 

There is a beautiful phrase in Ephesians 5:26 describing how men ought to love their wives as Christ loves His Bride and gave Himself up for her …  that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. 

When we meditate upon Scripture, we are washing our thoughts in light, disinfecting our tainted minds.  That which cannot survive exposure to the blaze of truth will shrivel away.  Worldly thinking is very much a kind of brainwashing, immersion in a solution of fear, need, anxiety, and arrogance.  It leaves our minds weighed down, clogged and gunky.  After a day in the grime and grit, we often come out of the shower feeling like new persons.  That same ease and relief on a spiritual level awaits the one who will meditate upon and wash his or her mind in the cleansing, sanctifying word of the Living God.  Clearing the detritus of the world from the eyes of our heart will enable us to see with far better resolution.