Who Gets To Decide

I was reading Psalm 1 this morning. It says, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."

And if I am honest, I would say that this strikes a chord in me, though I don't honestly know if it is a righteous chord. Because there is this piece of me that wants to use this passage to justify my thoughts and feelings and actions, but then I think, "who gets to decide who the wicked are?"

If I am not to walk in the counsel (seek the advice of, sit under the teaching of) the wicked, then how do I know who they are? Am I supposed to just decide that on my own? Because the reality is none of us can do that objectively. We are all going to filter our "judgment" of who is wicked based on how we feel about that person; by interactions we have had with that person; by interactions others have had with that person. And if we are judging them based on that, then how do we know we are coming up with the right (righteous) character interpretation of that person?

All that to say, who gets to decide? Lord, teach us your ways. Give us your wisdom. We lack understanding apart from your Word. Verse 6 says, "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous." It is for your knowledge that we pray Lord.