May 15 2026

Friday May 15

Don’t Join the Rat Race

Philippians 2:3-4; Psalm 15:4

Welcome to Pastor’s Chat. Today we’re looking at an amazing chapter in the Bible, Psalm 15. When I read this years ago and saw that very last verse that said, “He that does these things shall never be moved,” I thought, “I better find out what these things are.” So Psalm 15:1 asks the question, “who is the person, the individual, who has fellowship with the Lord and who lives in the presence of the Lord?” And then the rest of the psalm describes certain attitudes and actions that characterize that person.

For instance, we’ve been talking the last couple of days about how he watches his tongue. He does not say things that are slanderous, and he doesn’t gossip. He doesn’t take up a reproach against his neighbor or take sides against a neighbor in a way that causes more difficulty. Instead, he is a peacemaker.

Today we’re moving on to verse 4 in this chapter. Here, the psalmist describes how we should look at the wickedness around us: “In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord.” What this means is that the godly person does not admire wickedness. We live in a culture today that celebrates sin and mocks righteousness, but the believer must not allow the world to shape his values.

We have a Madison Avenue kind of attitude where we feel like we have to have everything the world has. We are constantly being brainwashed through social media, television, and advertising into believing that this is the best life: you have to own these kinds of appliances, wear these kinds of clothes, run around with this kind of crowd, drive this kind of car, and live in this kind of house.

We end up joining the rat race trying to keep up with people we don’t even know and, most likely, don’t even like. Yet here we are living that way—driven by it, going to work, trying to get more in order to keep up with people we don’t even care about. And while we should care about their souls, we often care more about what they think about us. May the Lord help us. We need to wake up. We borrow money we don’t have, to buy things we don’t need, in order to impress people we don’t even like. I read that statement one time and thought, “Oh, goodness, how true that is.”

So, “in whose eyes a vile person is condemned,” as one translation says, or “despised.” In Psalm 1, David begins the book of Psalms with these words: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” The whole book of Psalms—a book about living the blessed life—begins with a negative. We do not hang out with, run around with, celebrate, or seek advice from those who are evil and wicked in order to determine how we should live. Instead, we look into God’s Word.

That’s why verse 2 of Psalm 1 says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Then this person “shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.” Oh, that’s the kind of life David is describing here in Psalm 15. So, when it comes to vile, wicked, and evil people, we should despise their way of life. We should have a heart that says, “That’s not the path I want to follow.”

But then it goes on to say that we “honor those who fear the Lord.” We encourage those who love Jesus, who stand for truth and righteousness. This is what God wants us to do. We honor and value godliness, faithfulness, humility, and obedience because that is the kind of life that pleases God.

May the Lord help us not to join the “rat race”! (Read the book of Ecclesiastes)

God bless and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!