“1 Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God. 2 Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the Lord, and they study it day and night. 3 They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do. 4 But evil people are not like this at all; they are like straw that the wind blows away. 5 Sinners will be condemned by God and kept apart from God’s own people. 6 The righteous are guided and protected by the Lord, but the evil are on the way to their doom.” (Psalm 1:1-6 TEV).

Do you want real happiness? Not the momentary fleeting pleasure that so many mistake for happiness, but real, deep seated happiness that can’t be touched? Psalm 1 tells us how to obtain it.

First, watch your associates. I am alarmed at the number of professed believers who constantly seek out unsaved friends for counsel and advice. How can they help you? “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV). My personal opinion is that the only reason a believer might seek the advice of an unbeliever is because that believer is looking for justification to do something he or she already knows they ought not do. Just a thought, but that thought is based on years of experience and observation. What is not my opinion are the words of this Psalm, “1 Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people . . .”

As much as I like modern translations, there is still great value in the older, more traditional translations. When I memorized these verses I did so in the King James Version (which my son is convinced was the newest translation of my youth): “Blessed 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.” Did you catch the downward spiral of this verse? First the individual walks with the unbeliever. The concept here is that this is where he or she finds their direction; where they go for advice and comfort. The Holman Christian Standard Bible translates this portion of this Psalm, “How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked . . . .”

The person who seeks such advice as they walk through life soon begin to settle in and find comfort among the wicked. They take their stand with them. I was appalled recently to read of a singles Christian Bible study which is held every Tuesday at Hooter’s. Why? Because that’s where these professed believers are comfortable. They have taken their stand. They are comfortable in surroundings that should really make them very uncomfortable. They are not spiritually sensitive.

The final step downward is the person walks in the company and counsel of the ungodly, then they take their stand with them, finally they are setting down in fellowship with “those who have no use for God.”

So, the question of the hour is, where are you looking for happiness? Where are you looking for fulfillment? Where do you turn when you need advice and guidance? Look in the wrong places and you will go down the wrong path to your own doom. Look to God and you will be firmly established.

One final thing. This has nothing to do with experience. Experience and feelings will mislead you again and again. We need to seek guidance in what Dr. Francis Shaeffer called, “True truth.” The absolute, infallible, inerrant Word of God.