Psalm 1: A modern Paraphrase

Peaceful and adjusted is the woman who doesn’t listen to Oprah, or saturate her mind with talk radio, or wallow in the talk show gutter of human foolishness.

Happy is the woman who reigns in the Facebook pop-psychology of trite sayings, rejects the ‘feel good’ nothingness of shallow Christian radio, and recognizes the ‘this world’ bent of society’s parenting and relationship experts.

Serene and functional is the woman who doesn’t flock to the self-help section of the Christian bookstore, or reach for the love tank ‘best seller’ to rev up her marriage, or trust in the ‘birth order’ system of parenting.

But her delight is in first knowing God, and then in continually investigating the principles of his Word to know how to live…not just as a duty, like reading an encyclopedia when you need some special piece of wisdom real quick, but as a delightful joy, as she knows in it are found the very words of life and love from her God!

This practice is not always exciting, not always scintillating, but she disciplines herself to rise early to spend time in God’s truth. It exists as her priority and prize, as she recognizes the treasure it is.

As she imbibes the values and learns of the essence of God found in His Word, her life bubbles over with fruitfulness. Her mind is transformed, as is her world. Not absent from trials, but strength and peace in them; not affluence and material gain, but a recognition of how empty wealth can be; and in the absence of empty pursuits, she is free to invest time and love in what will never perish. All that she does blossoms with God’s pleasure.

This is not true of her neighbor. She seeks help in her marriage from Dr. Phil, aid in raising her child from Dr. Spock, rescue from her hectic life in spa days,  getaways, and expensive home décor via home shopping network.  But her inner world is slowly falling apart, as will her eternal soul at judgement, should she continue apart from God.

God directs in wisdom the woman who puts herself in a place to hear His Word. She looks to the Bible for answers, but the woman who yawns in disinterest or turns her head to the world’s latest impressive ‘answer of the hour’,  will grow old and die...God’s truth unrecognized, despairing and doomed.