Tree or Chaff…You Make the Call

Psalm 1 is the first of 150 Psalms recorded in the Bible, written by various authors.  Some of the psalms contain rather flowery language.  Some of them speak of God’s mercy and others of God’s judgment.  Psalm 1 is one of my favorites because it is very clearly stated and pretty easy to understand.  Psalm 1 is a comparison between the ungodly and the righteous.  Yesterday we looked at the slippery slope of sin but today at the metaphor God uses to contrast the two groups of people.  Let’s read the contrast in Psalm 1:3-4:  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
 That brings forth its fruit in its season,
 Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.  4  The ungodly are not so,
 But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 

God is aligning the righteous with the tree and the ungodly with chaff.  Chaff is the fine, useless material that is blown away by the wind when wheat is threshed the old fashioned way, by tossing it into the air.  What a stark contrast.   A strong tree produces fruit and lasts through the storm and provides shade and shelter.  A tree is extremely valuable and productive.  However, the chaff is useless.  Now, don’t misunderstand.  A person without God is not “useless”; but in the mind of God that life is a “waste”; as that person was created to love and serve his/her Creator.   A life without God at the center ultimately produces very little that will last for eternity.  Whereas the righteous are like a tree which produces lasting fruit and is full of life and great value.

Which are you?  Are you chaff?  Does the idea of being compared to chaff bother you?  Remember, I’m not making the comparison; God is.  Be a tree.  Come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and become eternally fruitful.  Become a “tree” that is strong and productive for the kingdom of God and for your Creator.