So, I was looking at Psalm 1 for our chapel on Sunday. I’ve looked at it for years. I wrote a paraphrase of it. And I was thinking about sharing it here. And I hesitated.

Because I’ve spent time in the comments sections. And I’ve spent time with people.

The words of the psalm may have been written as a preface, as a summary, to the rest of the collection. It’s a eulogy, good words about a life. It’s not a formula, “do this and you’ll be guaranteed a good and prosperous life, particularly as measured at each moment in that life.” And it’s an invitation to guide choices more than a billy-club with which to lambast others.

How do I know? I don’t. But when I read the lament in the rest of the collection, I’m confident that human-derived guarantees fall short.

So I’ll share a bit of what I wrote as an invitation to consider what might lead to a good life.

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It doesn’t make a lot of sense, now, does it
if a person wanting to live a blessed life
gets all his advice from people who are against God
or walks along a path that leads away from God
or sits on the sidelines being snarky all the time.

Instead, think what would happen if she decided
to focus on God’s words
like words from a lover
and day and night reflected on them.

It’d be like a planting a tree right by a river,
roots well-watered,
branches bearing great fruit.

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You can read all of Psalm 1 for yourself.