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| “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” |
| —Psalm 1:1-2 |
Radio broadcasting has held a fascination for me since I was ten years old. Just by accident, while visiting the Carnegie Public Library in my hometown of Bradford, Pennsylvania, I discovered a magical place. The Dewey Decimal System of library classification called that special place “621.384.” It was the depository of books about radio broadcasting.
The very first book I took down off the shelf was a textbook created for a course in radio broadcasting by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It featured many photographs of WUOM, the college radio station. I was immediately hooked on radio.
I subsequently read and re-read and re-re-read every book the public library had on the subject of radio broadcasting. I devoured those books. I studied the photographs. I tried to absorb the science and engineering behind the transmission of radio signals. I looked at photos of announcers and engineers, of turntables and tape decks and control boards, and longed to become a part of what they did.
Just two years later, a high school history teacher was visiting my seventh grade history class to talk about the influence of Greek culture on the ancient world. He saw my name on the seating chart and asked if he could speak with me after class.
“Are you the ‘Dean Wilson’ who has repeatedly taken books out of the public library on radio broadcasting?” I told him that I was. “Have you ever visited the radio station?” I told him that I had not. “Would you like to do so?” I fairly jumped for joy. You see, this teacher worked an evening shift as an announcer at the local radio station, WESB.
That teacher, Daniel W. Smith, will likely never know the important role he played in my life. He invited me to visit him at the radio station many times and soon introduced me to other members of the staff. The gentleman who acted as Program Director/News Director/Chief Engineer, William M. Winn, took me under his wing. I became a student intern at the station and, at age 12, had my first on-air experience hosting a weekly 30-minute program called “Your Lucky Seven.” (I still have a 1/4-inch reel-to-reel recording of one of those programs. My high squeaky voice is, frankly, hilarious.)
Dan Smith, Bill Winn, Floyd Henderson, and Gene Williams, invited me to follow in their footsteps. They treated me with unbelievable kindness. They answered my questions, encouraged my interest in radio broadcasting, allowed me to hone my interest, and made me feel welcomed. To most people in my world in those days, I was a very odd kid. But, at the radio station, I was part of the gang. That experience helped make me the person that I became—all because I could follow in their footsteps.
I find it fascinating that in constructing the canon of Scripture, following the tradition of the Hebrew Scriptures, the very first Psalm that the great divines used to open this important book of prayers, laments, and praises begins with these words, found in Psalm 1:1-2:
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
If you read these two verses carefully, you will see that they pretty well sum up the pathway that the Holy Spirit has laid out for those who have received God’s mercy, grace, and love through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We are to watch what He does and do the same.
We must not become sidetracked by the way of the wicked, nor take our stand with sinners, nor sit comfortably with those who mock God’s power and might. Rather, we are to take our greatest delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on that law every moment of every day.
Instead of aligning ourselves with the sin-darkened world around us, we are to forswear the evil of our day and immerse ourselves in the Word of God. As the Law of the Old Testament paves the way to the Law of Christ’s redemption in the New Testament, we are to delight ourselves in all that God reveals of Himself.
As another new day opens up before us, let us determine to truly be “in the world, but not of the world” (John 17:14). Yet, we will not live in a cocoon, or a protected bubble, nor isolate ourselves from the culture around us. Rather, we will bring the salt and light of the gospel into every situation. With humility, grace, and God-breathed love, we will gently share the reality of Christ’s Presence in our lives with all whom God nudges us to engage.
We will walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit with the mockers, but we will delight ourselves in the Law of Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
