You don’t wake up one morning and simply become a different husband and dad. You grow little by little. After listening to a sermon. After making a right decision. After adopting a new habit. It’s one day, one moment, at a time. Last Monday we looked at Psalm 1:1-3; let’s do it one more time because it shows just how much direction matters.

What you listen to affects where you walk. What you repeatedly return to puts down roots. And then those roots start to make something. Your daily life puts you on the path or in the ditch. Psalm 1 gives us a way to check our direction.

#1 Watch what you listen to. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.” Walk, stand, sit. You’re moving along and listening. Then you linger around that conversation to take in some office news. Time goes by, and eventually, you get comfortable. You’re hangin’ out with the enemy.

Counsel, way, seat. What starts to shape your thinking will start to shape your habits. None of this happens in one setting. Satan’s mastered the death-by-a-thousand-cuts strategy. If he can get your ear, he’ll get your attention. If he can get your attention, he’ll get your agreement. Friends, work, media: the enemy sends everything at you. Guard what/who gets your ear.

#2 Watch what you return to. “[B]ut his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” It’s more than just what you turn to; it’s what you keep turning back to for help. The blessed (or happy) man keeps returning to God’s Word. Meditate is about reading it, thinking about it, carrying it throughout the day. You’re not glancing at a verse and moving on.

Scripture should shape how you respond when your kid disappoints you, when your patience runs out, or when your family needs wisdom. Do you return to your anger, stress, phone, somebody’s opinion? Or is God’s Word stored in you so much that it drives you?

#3 Watch what you’re making. “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season…” Before any fruit is seen, there are roots you can’t see. Growth is usually slow. You pray, obey, repent, keep showing up, and then wonder if anything is making a difference. It is.

Patience grows slowly. It’s unseen until it’s seen. Humility grows when you correct a mistake…when you keep your word. Your kids may never see the roots, but they will notice the fruit when they look back. Guard the example your kids see.

The Beatitudes Explained: The Beatitudes from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount describe a blessed life that looks nothing like what the world calls success. Here is a straightforward breakdown of what each one means.

How to Let the Bible Actually Change You as a Dad: Your kids do not need a dad who simply knows a lot of Bible verses. They need a dad who is being changed by them. Lawson and I talked about what that actually looks like. Give it a listen.

“You are what you love.” —James K. A. Smith

Don’t just think about whether you’re reading your Bible enough. Take a look at the direction of your life. Take a few minutes and make three quick lists:

1. Voices: Who or what has had the most influence on my thinking lately? Who do you listen to? Not all advice is godly. Who you listen to will affect how you define success, how you treat your wife, what you prioritize, and what you teach your kids to value.

2. Roots: What am I most often giving my time and attention to? Who’s teaching you how to think? Maybe it’s a friend, podcast, somebody at work, social media, or just the world around you.

3. Fruit: What is currently showing up in my attitude, marriage, fatherhood, and relationship with God?

Pick one change. Maybe one voice needs less access. Maybe Scripture needs a regular time and place in your morning. You don’t have to fix everything this week. But you can change direction.

Take some time and ask yourself: If I keep listening to the same voices, practicing the same habits, and pursuing the same things, what kind of dad will I become?

You can follow God on the path or follow this world into the ditch. Either way, you’ll be shaping the example your kids see.

Kent Evans
Executive Director at Manhood Journey

P.S. Was this Mountain Monday helpful? Tell me if you love it, hate it, or if there’s something you’d like in the next one.

Forward this to a dad you know who needs some encouragement.