AA and Psalm One

"1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." (Psalm 1: 1)

The Psalms cover wide-ranging issues, from seeking the forgiveness and favor of God to providing that even in the midst of the greatest trials and storms in our lives, the Lord is the Rock of Ages for all who believe on Him.

Interestingly enough, the first Psalm talks about how a man can prosper in the Lord.

The unidentified psalmist indicts three paths which are wrong for a "mighty man" to get involved in:


"Walking in the counsel of the ungodly."

"Ungodly" simply speaks of any knowledge, wisdom, or insight that stems from fallen man instead of the Risen Christ. That includes AA, with its attachment to itemizing sins at length, confessing one's wrongdoing to others who may just as well betray a confidence as instill any hope. The "counsel of the ungodly" includes the maxims of Benjamin Franklin, the advice of parents and grandparents that does not square completely on the Word of God, or the rationalizing of hollow intellects and media elites who trust more in themselves than in the One who made all things.

"Standing in the way of sinners"

Once again, AA meetings are full of sinners, people who either have not received life and that more abundantly, or believers who are convinced that they have to fulfill the Old Covenant commandments in order to enjoy New Covenant life and blessing. AA is Moses without the props, without the priests, with the pretense that the associations of men and their old ideas can restore man to the vitality that he so craves. "The way of sinners" includes gang-banging, country clubs, or any criminal enterprise which makes something of man, who without God and His love is nothing.

"Sitting in the seat of the scornful"

Oh, the number of times that I would hear people go on about their unhappy marriages, their unkind bosses, the uncaring world as I sat and listened to the sob-story "drunk-a-logues" in AA. More often than not, these men and women still bitter because the world just does not treat them right. Or they complain about the grumpy, angry people who run the coffee bars in Alano Clubs. They are downright mean, territorial, unpleasant, most likely because they are unfulfilled, unsatisfied, unrecovered beyond not drinking.

So, what are we to do, then? The second verse outlines the way:

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."

What does God delight in specifically? Micah explains:

"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy." (Micah 7: 18)

and

"For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6: 6)

The Lord is interested in us being forgiven, not in all of our sacrifices, in all that we do to get forgiven. For this reason, and much more, God sent His Son to be the final sacrifice:

"For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins." (Hebrews 10: 2)

then

"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10: 10)

Once for all -- the sacrifices are over. No further need to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, to stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seats of the scornful.

In the New Testament, Paul outlines that we sit first, then walk, and finally stand:

"And [God] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2: 6)

How well we sit determines how well we walk:

"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called," (Ephesians 4: 1)

Paul explains further:

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind" (Ephesians 4: 17) In other words, do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.

Then Paul shares:

"1Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." (Ephesinas 5: 1-2)

We sit in His Finished Work, growing rooted in knowledge of His love for us, and filled with this love, we walk as His dear children -- better than standing in the ways of the sinners.

What about standing? Paul shares this truth last:

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

The apostle outlines the elements God's armor, which is Son, as we are now in Christ (Colossians 3: 3):

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;" (Ephesians 6: 12-14)

"We wrestle" should read "the wrestling" -- in other words, we stand in our Lord and Savior, knowing and believing that He covers and care for us, creating a way where none seems available. Besides, through Christ's death on the Cross, every enemy has been disarmed and humiliated forever (Colossians 2: 15)

We do not need to sit with scorners, who attack other people because they are filled with fear. We do not have to stand with sinners, for God gives us all things freely in His Son, and we do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, for through God the Father, Christ is made unto us wisdom (1 Corinthians 1: 30)

AA is just ungodly counsel in the way of sinners and in the seat of scorners.