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.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. ~ Psalm 1:1-6
My youth pastor, many years ago, used Star Wars to illustrate this passage. He showed clips of Revenge of the Sith, while using the main character, Anakin Skywalker, as an example.
Anakim Skywalker
When you look at Skywalker, he seems to have everything, at least at first glance. He has a beautiful wife, is good-looking, has fulfilled his dream of becoming a Jedi Knight, and is the most talented Jedi ever. Anakin fights for democracy, for truth, and for justice. He is the person who speaks up for the oppressed, and uses his talents to help those in need. In a nutshell, Anakin seems to have everything going for him. Somewhere along the way, this Jedi went wrong.
Why?
Lucas has termed this passage “turning to the dark side.” Yoda tells Luke Skywalker decades later that “once you step down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”
Skywalker desired more than being a normal Jedi Knight. He wanted power. Power to stop bad things from happening. Power to keep his wife from dying. “I’m not going to lose you,” Anakin tells Padme. He may have been the greatest, most talented Jedi, but this guy was shadowed by his own insecurities and past “failures.” He wondered: What could I have done to prevent my mother from dying? What can I do to prevent my wife from dying?
Skywalker brooded over these thoughts. They dominated his waking moments, and crept through his dreams at night. Not to mention that he knew that he was the most powerful Jedi. The Council refused to allow Anakin to have the rank of Master… for the time being. He seethed, feeling that they were keeping him back on purpose. They said he still had a ways to go. Skywalker believed otherwise.
This discontent allowed him to seek out Chancellor Palpatine, the only man who seemed to understand what he was going through.
Palpatine & Anakim sitting together
It turned to standing.
Finally, he sat.
Blessed is the man…
My youth pastor’s interpretation was that “walking” could refer to “not committing yet, but taking it in and listening.” “Standing” could mean “stopping to listen more intently.” “Sitting” is the actual commitment.
Taking the time to sit with a person isn’t to be thought of lightly. When you’re walking with a person, it’s not that easy to really focus your attention on that person. When you stand with the person, it shows a deeper level of involvement. “I want to stand here and talk to you, face-to-face.” But sitting down with a person really tells your friend that you’re ready to listen to what he has to say. You’re ready to stop what you’re doing, and just be with that person. You want to get more involved with that person, whether that person is a casual friend or a potential mate. With whom do you choose to sit down and have dinner or tea? With whom do you sit when you eat out at a restaurant?
Many people ask, “How close can I get to the line before the behavior becomes sin?” That’s the wrong question. Instead, ask yourself how far you can stay away from the line. When you start walking with bad company, it can turn into standing, and then sitting, before you know it. Before you can stop what you’re doing and turn away. From that point on, it’s a downhill slide.
Anakin sat. The Chancellor fed his pride and insecurities. Then he dropped the bombshell.
Supreme Chancellor: It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you. It’s a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the Midichlorians to create life… He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.
Anakin Skywalker: He could actually save people from death?
Supreme Chancellor: The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.
Anakin Skywalker: What happened to him?
Supreme Chancellor: He became so powerful… the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It’s ironic he could save others from death, but not himself.
Anakin Skywalker: Is it possible to learn this power?
Supreme Chancellor: Not from a Jedi.
Anakin was hooked, and from that moment on, his actions demonstrated his choice. Sad to say, in the end, it wasn’t Anakin and his loved ones. It was Darth Vader, alone, on a road he’d chosen, gazing out of red-tinted eyeshades, locked in a prison of his own making.
He’d thrown away the key.
[The wicked] are like chaff that the wind blows away…
