I went to church with a friend this past Sunday. I’m not religious, but I find it enjoyable to occasionally sit in on religious rituals to learn about different people and cultures. This particular service consisted of lots of joyful singing and a teaching from the Bible. The pastor who led the teaching read the following passage from Psalm 1 and broke down its meaning:
Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
It means, he said, that if you want to be happy, you should surround yourself with people who are not wicked, sinners, or mockers. The company you keep is a direct reflection of what kind of life you will live. I thought it was a really nice message. He gave a few anecdotes to illustrate this idea. Then came the kicker: the wicked, he said, are those who don’t believe in God, who don’t come to church regularly, and who don’t believe in God’s word.
Is that really what this passage means? I would have interpreted it differently, but then again, maybe I just don’t want to admit that I’m wicked.