At River Valley Church, we just came out of a really great series called God Space, based on the book by Doug Pollock. The book encourages us to have natural, spiritual conversations with those outside of the church through love, noticing, serving, listening, wondering, and sharing. As Jesus demonstrates, we should not be afraid to have conversations and friendships with those far from God. Jesus is so good at this that he picks up some derogatory titles: “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’“ -Matthew 11:19
Right as this series finishes, we go into a psalm series and start Psalm 1. And immediately, we are confronted with an apparent contradiction. Or at least some tension. Why? Psalm 1:1 says: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. . .” According to the Psalmist, our associations are important. And yet Jesus isn’t that interested in associations? Or is he? Let’s make the problem more complicated.
Psalm 1 is a wisdom psalm, meaning it’s a part of the larger wisdom literature tradition, the most popular of which is Proverbs. Proverbs has a lot more to stay about who we hang with:
“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
-Proverbs 13:20
“The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
-Proverbs 12:26
Even Paul the missionary has some concerns about our associations, quoting a Greek poet: “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” -1 Corinthians 15:33
There are a number of other kinds of wisdom literature warnings that we could note, but we get the idea. And yet, Jesus appears to not heed these warnings. Does the wisdom literature teach us something different than Jesus? Is Psalm 1 a problem for Jesus, friend of sinners?
This is something I love about the Bible, because when we wrestle with these kinds of questions and potential contradictions, this shows that we are meditating on God’s instruction and coming to the most precise picture of what God intends for us. These kinds of questions show that delight in and meditate on the Torah (instruction) of God day and night.
1) Jesus himself affirms the wisdom tradition in Matthew 11:18-19: “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
In other words, Jesus says: “You guys are claiming that John was crazy, and that I am compromised, but in reality, we are vindicated from your claims by our lifestyles and ministries. We are demonstrating wisdom by our conduct, our life, our good fruit.
2) Psalm 1 describes joining in with evil people in their sin.
In Psalm 1, notice the progression, the downward slide. First, the person simply walks with the wicked, then he stands with them, then he sits down. This isn’t a friendly, God Space conversation. This is backroom planning and plotting, an active participation in that which is opposite to the God’s Law (instruction). Jesus is a friend of sinners, but not an accomplice to sinners. We should be the same.
Don’t just think bank robbery here, think of a conversation on break with coworkers that quickly turns into bash-whoever-isn’t-here-gossip-slander-session. (Whenever this happens, I wonder what they say about me when I’m not there?) There’s a huge difference here between friend and accomplice.
3) Psalm 1 describes finding your identity in the (evil) group, following their Torah (instruction) instead of God’s Torah.
There are two paths outlined in Psalm 1. Two directions, two kinds of people, two identities. It’s very black and white. (Postmodernism and wisdom literature aren’t good friends. But don’t feel bad, post-modernists, the scriptural narrative will often fit your love for ambiguity.) One character finds his identity in the Law of the Lord, the other, finds his identity in the group’s activity: in the tribe, in the political party or platform or person, in the denomination. Identifying with a group over Torah will always lead to a tumble-weed-like existence (Psalm 1:4).
4) Wisdom literature points to the danger of a group’s influence towards evil.
We are not islands, but are all connected to countless groups that influence us both positively and negatively. We have to be very sensitive to the implicit ways our groups influence us. This includes our Christian groups as well. We can think of horrific examples in the past where many Christian communities justified slavery or segregation. But on a smaller, more subtle level, what about the sins of pride, selfishness, self-righteousness, judgmental superiority, an “us vs them” mentality, and legalism that can inhabit Christian groups? The “bad company” that Proverbs and Paul referring to isn’t just our secular, liberal friends, but also could include some of our conservative and religious friends. We might never see a secular person all week and still be a “companion of fools.” All this to say, our Christian communities need to be vetted as well. Scary, Psalm 1:1 can and often does refer to our conservative “Christian” friends. Yikes.
On the other hand, when we engage with the irreligious, the wisdom literature (and Jesus!) gives us some helpful principles. When we are pressured to compromise morally, when we are pressured to sin, that’s a place to draw the line. We must retain our distinction.
Some obvious examples: A recovering alcoholic probably can’t spend time with friends that drink a lot. There are some great ministries to dancers in strip clubs, but it’s probably not okay for me to go minister on the inside. In my humble opinion, that’s not a good way to get men involved in outreach. It’s probably better for women to do that ministry.
There are times when friends put on a movie, and after a little Google search, I will need to respectfully leave. I don’t need to make a scene and start going all Ezekiel on the heathens. But I know that that particular movie will be morally harmful to me personally. The wisdom tradition teaches us that certain places, certain people, and certain situations might be off limits for you. I personally can’t watch Game of Thrones, as much as I would like to be familiar with the story to be conversant with my neighbors about it. But the compromise isn’t worth it to me.
5) The Wisdom Literature (and Jesus!) Stress Distinction
God Space requires distinction (holiness). And Jesus demonstrates that holiness can be compelling, sinful women and men liked being with Jesus, even as he lovingly challenged them.
Jesus draws people to himself not JUST because of his love, but because he’s compellingly different from everyone else. If we’re not different from the world in how we use money, and time, words, social media, we won’t have good God Space moments, nor will we be joyful, righteous people. It’s that difference that makes our love, service, and sharing all the more compelling and counter-cultural.
So, blessed is the person who remains faithful to the law of God, which teaches us to love God and ALL our neighbors. And in this, we reflect the Sinless Savior, who befriends all of us sinners and invites us into his home.
-Pastor Tyler
