Scripture Focus: Psalm 1:1

The Lesson in Context

Everyone has a defining moment. For James, there were certain individual actions that could measure a person’s whole character. We might think of these individual actions as samples, samples that reveal what lies in the core of our identity. We might refer to this as the “royal law” theory. The royal law, James said, is loving our neighbor as ourselves. If we break this law and, say, welcome a rich man who can bless us, but we keep at arm’s length a poor man who cannot, we have broken every conceivable law. Conversely, if we welcome both, we have upheld the whole law. James taught that our true attitude toward Jesus is revealed in how we treat those who can neither bless us nor hurt us.

To demonstrate how this principle might manifest itself in our daily lives: consider your emails. If you take great care in how you write to someone who is in a position to help you, give you a job, give you a promotion, or give you accolades, but you take relatively little care with how you write a subordinate, you are subtly breaking the royal law. This one act is a sample representing the whole of your character— the defining moment, the defining act.

Group Discussion

1. Who or what do you think of when you think of the word blessed?

2. How does the“way of sinners” differ from the“way of the righteous”?

3. Why is receiving the right counsel so important?

4. How can someone meditate on the Word of God day and night?

5. How does someone “walk in righteousness”?