In Season

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. As a mother of teens, one thing I try to teach my children is how to make good choices. And as I always tell them, one of the keys to making good decisions is to think long-term, rather than short- term. — Psalm 1:4

Every Sunday, we begin the week with an inspirational lesson from the beloved Book of Psalms. Written by King David and others, these ancient songs and prayers have given voice to God’s people in moments of joy, sorrow, praise, and thanksgiving for thousands of years—and remain at the heart of both Jewish and Christian worship today.

So many poor choices are the result of short-term thinking. Short-term thinking is fine when it comes to things that don’t really matter, like which flavour of ice cream to eat or what TV show to watch at the end of a long day. But for the important decisions—like what to study or which relationships to pursue— thinking long-term is usually the path to success.

Long-term thinking protects us against impulsive and careless behaviour. Short-term thinking, all too often, leads to problems that sometimes aren’t so easy to fix.

Living a life of faith means thinking long term… really long term. Faith means that we consider God when making choices.

We see this message in the very first Psalm: “[The righteous] is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away” (1:3-4).

The righteous are compared to a tree that yields its fruit “in season.” But the wicked are compared to chaff.

Chaff is the outer husk and top of a stalk of grain. While it’s visible when the grain is growing, when the time comes to harvest the grain, the chaff is removed and thrown away.

The wicked are like chaff because they stand tall while the grain grows. When you look at a stalk of grain, the chaff is what you see on the outside. Chaff serves a short-term purpose as grain grows, but in the long term it is destined to be discarded.

When we look out at our world, we can often be enticed by what seems to have value on the outside, even though what really matters is beneath the surface. We see wicked people

prospering and having a great time. But theirs is a short-term view.

Ultimately, the righteous will prevail “in season.” So let’s all live with a righteous view for the long-term.