Happiness is a function of living by the Word of God and not by worldly or human opinion or standards. Psalm 1:1-3 says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly...But his delight is in the law of the LORD...He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water" The Moffat translation says, "Happy is the man who never goes by the advice of the ungodly". We must, however, take note that a christian isn"t necessarily godly nor necessarily gives godly counsel, if not, Paul wouldn"t admonish christians to exercise themselves oward godliness. (1 Tim.4:7). The question is what the counsel is based on; is it in the word or not? Jesus likened those who hear His words but don"t do them, to the foolish builder who built his house on the sand. He built a house quite all right but not on the rock; he built on sand - representing human and fleshly opinions and standards. Jesus said, great was the fall of that house when the storms come! It will take the storms of life to reveal what we and our lives are made of and built upon. Psalm 127:1 says, "Except the LORD builds the house, they labour in vain who build it" Note that the Bible didn"t say they didn"t build, but it says their labour is in vain. How painful it is to find out at the end of the day that one"s labour had only been in vain! But that is what is bound to happen if one doesn"t build by the word. There is a way that seems right to man but the end of it is destruction - note, it"s the end of it not the start of it. Yet people have built marriages, families, ministries and even lives, on every other thing but the word. This is because it is easier to build on sand than on the rock. Did you notice that the man that built on the rock had to dig deep to get to the rock. Sand is superficial and the human nature loves superficiality. Sand is commonly found around and our nature likes to commonise; the opposite of "Holy" is "common". You don"t need much effort to build on sand and the human nature doesn"t enjoy hardwork.
Wisdom Key: Happiness is a function of living by the Word of God and not by worldly or human opinion or standards.
Memory Verse: Psalm 1:1-3 "Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper."
Life Application: How can we discern whether the counsel we are receiving is godly or not?
