So, where do you stand? Are you for it – or against it? All in favor of the motion, stand up. OK – now all not in favor of the motion, stand up. Well, it looks like we are all standing with the pastor on this one! The vote is unanimous for the motion.
The phrase “take a stand” comes from the practice of standing up to be counted. You either stood for something, or you stood against it. When it came to decision time, that’s where you stood.
Well, that’s the idea behind Psalm 1:1, when God said, “Blessed is the man…who does not stand in the way of sinners.” When you stand in the way of sinners, you align yourself with their vote on the matter – with their way of thinking. You stand on their side of things, rather than on God’s side.
The word “stand” is a Hebrew verb that has a variety of applications. Its basic meaning is “to stand.” But it is translated in the Old Testament by over 40 different English words. The idea seems to be that this is where you take your place. You abide here; you continue here; this is where you dwell. It is where you have established yourself; where you have put down your roots.
It is like the settlers of the old west. They made the journey west, with all of their belongings in a covered wagon. Then they staked out a claim and said, “This is my homestead. It is where I take my stand.”
Well that, in effect, is what we do when we live like the world:
- when we are materialistic and greedy.
- when we allow peer pressure and social pressure to influence us.
- when we indulge ourselves in sensual pleasures like those around us
That’s how we take our stand with the world. It’s what we prefer to do – and that’s where we take our stand. Now you need to realize that God says that the person who wants to be blessed of God doesn’t do that. The blessed person takes a stand with God and His ways. “Blessed is the man…who does not stand in the way of sinners.”
Now you know the real meaning of the word.
Hey — There are only two choices you know! So, where do you take your stand?