In Psalm 1:6 we read, “For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

God knows what He created and He knows only good, not evil. The way of the righteous consist of good deeds, unselfed love, all the ways that God expresses himself through His creation. This is the normal and natural state of man. The fact that God knows it is the direct result of the fact that God created it. Those who are righteous are righteous for that reason, – they are expressing God in their words and their actions.

It’s the way of the ungodly that needs work. The way of the ungodly includes envy, lust, hate, passion, revenge, self love, self will, self justification, sin, disease, death. There seems to be a lot of words to describe the “way” of the ungodly. And it is that “way” that shall perish. The Psalm does not say that the ungodly shall perish, but that their “way” shall perish.

It took me a while to realize that evil, in whatever form, is not personal. It is never a person. That is why it is so important to rebuke evil whenever we see it or feel it, and not worry about hurting someone’s feelings. Mrs. Eddy implored her students to “exhort” and “rebuke” one another. Jesus rebuked his disciples and others for their “ungodly” way. This is how they perish (the way, that is). And it perishes where it appeared, in your consciousness. And once you eliminate it from your consciousness, it will perish from your experience. This is Christian healing. The ungodly (mistaken, unhealthy) will become righteous (right, healthy) once their ungodly “way” perishes.