The Loyal Opposition
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked nor stand in the path of sinners Psalm 1:1
Wicked – OK, so who are the wicked? Are they the corrupt officials, the serial rapists, the terrorists and the corporate swindlers? Are they the ones who don’t go to church, drink beer and get divorced? If you don’t know who these people are, how do you suppose you can avoid their counsel?
Hebrew helps. The word is rasha. It is the polar opposite of saddiq (the righteous). That means that the “wicked” in this verse are those who oppose what is right according to God. They are the ones who hate God, deny God or ignore God. And how do they behave? They act as though they have no need to pay attention to God’s commandments, judgments or authority. In other words, they do as they please. They serve their own interests.
The investor who cares only about profits, the teacher who ignores instruction from the Bible, the clerk who thinks about himself, the business owner who shows no mercy to the needy, the man who refuses forgiveness, the woman who worries about social image, the broker who has no room for charity, the pastor who thinks those other churches are competition, the student who craves MTV’s worldview, the employee who speaks arrogantly, the man who is proud, the woman who is vain – all these, and more, are the wicked. How many of them are influencing you?
The financial advisor who plans a life of affluent ease pushes you away from God’s call to serve. The doctor who denies the power of prayer in medicine moves you away from God. The car mechanic, who thinks life’s goal is to get all you can get while the going’s good, denies God’s sovereignty. The young adult who believes sex is just part of growing up violates God’s holiness. These are not the people on the Most Wanted list. They are our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends, even our relatives. But they do not walk in a life-long obedience in the same direction. They think that as long as they are good people, they are just fine. They truly believe that God has nothing essential to say to them.
Psalm 119:155 tells us that the wicked are the ones who do not seek God’s statutes. They are not necessarily heinous human beings. They are simply those lost ones who pay no attention to the things of God. How many people in your circles of influence qualify as “wicked” now? How much advice do you get from them? How attuned is your ear to the words of those who may be fine, upstanding citizens, but who live without any desperation for Jesus? Make the list. Then ask yourself why you let them push your buttons. All those who belong to the world are opposed to the Kingdom, no matter how well thought of they are.
Who influences you?
