Psalms 1:4 - “The wicked are not so.”

When the Bible tells us about the righteous, there is something that is absolutely certain. There are also the unrighteous. The Bible calls them the “wicked.”

It seems that we have kind lost sight of what that term means. In some parts of the country, people use that term to refer to something that’s really great. It is used as a brand name for a beer. TV shows and movies glorify wickedness. It seems like there are politicians and corporations that actually strive for it as a badge of honor.

To God, the wicked are those who are opposed to Him. James tells us that these people are hostile to God.

James 4:4

“Friendship with the world is hostility toward God … a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

The Hebrew word used in Psalms 1:3 is rasha. They are those who rebel against God by committing crimes and violence against His Word and His people. That means that the righteous are actually the victims of the wicked. That gives us some insight into something Jesus once said. Remember in Matthew 5:22 when Jesus spoke the following words? Did you ever wonder why His judgment here was so severe?

Matthew 5:22

“But I say … whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

The word that Jesus used in this statement is “racha.” That’s a modified form of the same word for the wicked who are hostile to God and enemies to His people.

The wicked will never prosper in the end. They may have their way at times and they may disrupt and upset Christians and the church, but there is no victory for them. Their way never leads to victory.