DUST IN THE WIND

Psalm 1:4-6 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

“All we are is dust in the wind”, is a phrase sung in lament by a well-known 1970’s band. But it is a borrowed theme from Psalms 1. This chapter tells us a sense of insignificance and futility is the hopeless fate of the ungodly. When Scripture says the ungodly, “…are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind”, we are being given a vivid picture of harvest time in Israel. Harvesters would throw the grain into the air so the wind would separate the chaff or shell from the grain and blow it away. The valuable grain would then fall to the ground and gathered by the Harvester. The picture is powerful: those who do not follow God’s Word are easily blown about by the changing winds of culture. They are “dust in the wind”, doomed to a life of insignificance. Lacking the weightiness of God’s blessing, they live without godly purpose and are quickly forgotten. The first word in the Book of Psalms is, “Blessed”. The final word of the first chapter is “Destruction”. If we choose first to live according to God’s Word – the final word on our life will be that we were, “Blessed”. If we instead choose to ignore God’s Way and Word, our final destiny will be “Destruction”. The choice is ours.

Deuteronomy 30:19 …I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.