Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. Psalm 1:1
I’ve had several people say to me something like this: “We must get into the world to experience ungodly situations and ungodly people in order to grow stronger.” This kind of thinking has swallowed up many immature Christians and eventually turned them against God. Sure, we’re in the world (John 17:15) and we’re exposed to non-Christian situations (school, job, neighborhood), but we need to be careful that exposure to those situations does not lead us to embrace ungodly philosophies. All of us would mature faster by following the divine pattern suggested in Psalm 1:1. First, let’s not let our decisions and choices be controlled by the “counsel of the ungodly.” Second, we shouldn’t put ourselves in a place where those who don’t know Jesus can unduly influence our thought processes. Third, let’s avoid getting comfortable with those who mock God, His Word, and His role in our life so that their thinking seems right to us. Trusting the counsel from such sources leads us away from God. Instead, it’s best to get our training, our guidance, and our advice from God’s holy Word and from people who know it and love it. God and His Word, not experiences, are our best teachers.