The Wicked

Not so the wicked.  They are like chaff that the wind blows away.  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.         Psalm 1:4-6




I've seen a lot of movies.  Our cabinet is full of them; half of them have some kind of animated character the rest have completely human actors.  Even though the story lines are vastly different, they all carry something of the of the same plot:




There are good guys and there are bad guys.  Bad guys always seem to be winning; their unscrupulous ways seem to bring them to the forefront of prosperity and popularity and the good guys wallow in misery until the very end when their moral fidelity is rewarded with... well, that depends on the movie.  Sometimes the reward is getting the girl (or guy), sometimes it's getting the promotion; but sometimes the reward itself (for the good guys, or girls) is to see the bad guys fall from their pedestal.




I like it when that happens.




In the baseball world, I think most would say that the New York Yankees are universally known collectively as 'the wicked.'  The owner of the Red Sox, John Henry, went so far as to call them the 'Evil Empire,' which, of course, is an allusion to Star Wars galactic battle between the rebel alliance and the black hole of good-sucking evil.  In recent years the Yankees have swallowed most of their Pride, and at the cost of buying championships, can be seen as chaff blowing in the wind.  Ryan, for some unknown reason - he's really such a great guy - has been pulled in by the tractor beam of the Death Star (Yankees) and can't seem to escape their clutches.  That doesn't make my brother a bad guy, I guess, but it does make me have all sorts of glee when the Evil Empire falls from the playoffs, or has a few guys who are taking 'supplements' and have to face the media storm, or a certain shortstop that can barely hit his weight in the last year of his career. 


Is that what the Psalmist is talking about when "The Lord watches over the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked will parish?"


Probably not, but it is certainly fun to write.


The psalmist is certainly describing what it's like not to be planted near the stream.  Instead of producing fruit, the wicked seem to be tossed about with chasing after things that are temporal, while the one who delights in the law of the LORD is rooted in life sustaining water.  We have an opportunity to walk in the way of righteousness, not sit, stand or walk with the Wicked.  We have an opportunity to have our footsteps watched by the Holy One, while the way of those who chase after the wind will ultimately perish. 


It's just timing.


Tomorrow, either Ryan or I will take on these three verses in relation to Jeremiah 12.  Should be fun!  Read ahead.