In his definitive book, How to be Wise and Successful, Dr. Warren Burnham perfectly outlines some of the pertinent secrets of God’s Word which inform us of how we should live a life which is pleasing and acceptable to Him. In his book, Dr. Burnham centers, most of all on Psalm One and the Book of Proverbs. I have read this book in its entirety and I have also reread and studied certain parts of it. In talking personally with Dr. Burnham, it is clear that he is a man of deep faith which has carried him through a very interesting lifetime. He has told me personally that Psalm One is a complete guide for a person’s life. If that is true, and I believe that it is, we should listen carefully to what is told us in this valuable Psalm.
I am not going to do an exegesis of this passage, but I simply want to pull from it some common sense things that it so plainly tells us to do.
In verse one of Psalm 1 God says: “Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Essentially this passage is telling us to stay away from the godless. Don’t commiserate with them. Don’t listen to what they tell you to do and don’t anchor your life on the kind of life they live. Modelling your life after the kind of people God is warning us against will not lead to a successful life and it certainly will not produce a life of wisdom in how to please God. So, God says to stay away from the godless. You will exhibit wisdom and open the door to success if you do.
The next verse, v.2, tells us to read and study God’s Word. It is amazing how little people actually know about the Word of God. It should be a central focus for us because He is the one who has the power and position to tell us what pleases Him and what does not. There is no “grey” area with God. He always says what His will is and there is no doubt about it. The problem is that most people read the morning paper far more than they do God’s Word. The morning list of obituaries are of far more interest than finding out how to live life in a way which pleases our Maker and Judge. If one is going to be Wise and Successful before God then is stands to reason that a person must know what He expects and what he says about human situations. One cannot lead a Godly life unless they know what God says about living that Godly life. He sets the standards; we do not.
In Psalm 1:3 we are informed of what obeying verses 1-2 will produce. “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
So, by doing what is in the first two verses of this wonderful and instructive Psalm, we find out what God will produce in our lives and it all sounds good to me. God says that our lives will be stable and productive if we follow Him and obey His Word. He is telling us beforehand that we will be successful and productive. We don’t know what form this will take but we must trust all of this to the Lord and He will form and shape our lives to suit Him. The promise is that we will have a stable and productive life. He will direct us so that we will produce what He wants us to produce and it will be in abundance. The person who so orders his life will prosper. An economic advisor did not promise you this. No government leader told you this. God, told you this truth. Rely on it.
In verses 4-5 we find that the emphasis changes in this Psalm. God has told us what we should do to have a Wise and Successful Life. He informs us of the dangers of not doing what is in v. 1-3. What we are looking at in v. 4-5 is the insecurity of failing to do what is in verses 1-2. The cost is too much to pay. He says that the ungodly are driven like chaff that is driven here and there by the winds of life. And there will be winds in life. There will be many of them. Now do you want to live in the insecurity of the chaff or do you want to be like a tree planted by the rivers of water which will prosper and bear fruit? The only wise choice seems clear to me.
Not only does the Lord say that the ungodly will be like wind-blown chaff but that they will have no foot to stand on in judgment. They will be unable to have an acceptable stance as they stand in judgment which will come. It also says that sinners (the unforgiven) shall not be able to stand in the congregation of the righteous. Let me add this for clarity: It’s not man who determines who is righteous but it is God who knows who is righteous based on what they have done with Jesus. His blood covers only those who commit their lives to Him.
In Psalm 1:6 God gives us a Godly promise. He says that He knows who and what we really are. We can’t fool Him. And, even though He knows of our sinful proclivities, He has provided a way for us to be forgiven. He says He knows where the ungodly are going and He also knows where and how the Godly shall live forever with Him. He plainly says this when His Word tells us: “For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
Now, whose side do you desire to be on? It is laid out as “plain as day” for us.
So, to recap….Watch where you walk….Study what Matters….Receive God’s Blessings…Recognize the Destruction of Disobedience….Rejoice in His Guidance.
Then, I might add….Enjoy eternity with Him.
So, in his book How to be Wise and Successful, Dr. Burnham has wonderfully outlined the way of the Godly and successful life. How to be Wise and Successful is not a book to tell one how to get monetarily rich. It instructs us on how to have a rich, successful relationship with our Maker. I encourage our readers to get a copy of this volume and internalize its contents. One can find it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Get a copy. I can promise you that you will be a better person for it.
