Q1. Psalm 1

[Krissi]

I have many thoughts about this since God has always put me on the threshold between Christianity and secularism. Everyone I know is secular except my oldest son who accepted the Lord a few weeks ago, praise God!

When a culture (on average) values Christian faith and morals, as American society did until the 1950s, Christians are more than likely to be successful. Their honesty and work ethic is regarded positively. People prefer to draw contracts with them, trust the workmanship of their product, prefer their service because they know that Christians work productively. But when a culture declines, that is, when it loses it’s grounding in Christian faith and morals, those trying to be godly and upright in the workplace are less likely to succeed than sinful seculars.

This is the opposite conclusion reached by Gibbon in his Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Gibbon was an atheist and therefore believed that Rome fell because Christians had risen to the highest levels of government – that’s a one-line summary of his volumes.

As an aside, my son, who is already struggling as a new Christian, was recently told by a very successful couple that no entrepreneur will succeed in the United States without “riding dirty.” That’s the way our culture is today. Many of those who have risen hooked themselves to the government or willed to do sinful things to get ahead. (Please pray that my son is strengthened by God and given great wisdom and protection as he moves forward. Pray that he reflects Christ in all he does and grows quickly in him. Pray he puts his faith before success which is hard for a young man to do at an early age.)

To sum, in declining cultures, the righteous – on average – will not be as successful as seculars, but God sees their clean hearts and will reward them in different ways in this life, and, of course, in the next life.

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The part of this psalm I love the most is this: “They will still bear fruit in old age.” I’m getting older and I want to be used by Him until the day I die. I do not want to “retire” but want to be a strong tree that bears fruit and stays green. That’s the promise in this verse. As I buzz through my 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, a lot of years will go by during which I can bear fruit – a lot of fruit! – and stay green – remain healthy, productive, spring-like and capable of making shade for those who are weary.

Yes, Lord, help me bear fruit for you!