1Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong, 2for like the grass, they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
5Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will do this: 6He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 7Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37: 1-2; 5-7
For my birthday a friend gave me a necklace with the fish symbol in the center of a Star of David. This I wear daily because it truly represents who I am. I have frequently given friends cross pendants as gifts, but do not wear one myself. Someone once asked me why and I explained that to the Jewish people the cross represents prejudice and persecution; I don’t wear a cross so as not to offend my Jewish brethren.
Today, as we look at the actions of Muslim terrorists, we are aghast at how they can do such things supposedly for Allah, for God. But the fact is, the history of Christianity is filled with horrendous acts, supposedly done for Christ. I refuse to believe the Inquisition was led by the Holy Spirit, that the Russian pogroms honored Christ in any way, that the cross burnings and lynchings are at all Christian. But the perpetrators all claimed to be doing their deeds for Christ. Evil men do evil things, even those who call themselves Christians. Moise Rosen of Jews for Jesus quotes “A person born in a Christian home isn’t necessarily a Christian any more than a person born in bakery is a bagel.” I think that can be carried even further to include a person who calls himself a Christian, because just saying you are one, doesn’t make you one. Unfortunately, this is one of the great stumbling blocks to bringing someone to Christ. “Hypocrisy in the church” keeps all too many “seekers” from finding what they seek.
Bad things happening to good people, and seeing the bad flourish while the good suffer, makes people doubt God. But, as you read through the Psalms and Proverbs, you see that God recognizes that bad people can prosper, at least for a time. He knows, He cares, and He will do something about it. We can trust in that and take comfort from it. We don’t have to fret about evil; we do need to abstain from it ourselves and do good.
If you have faced wickedness in your own life, take hold of hope, wait on the Lord and continue to do good. He sees the wickedness and He sees your good. Leonardo DiVinci said “Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind.” The fact is, what goes around, comes around. The more good you do, the more you’ll be blessed. And the wrongdoers will eventually face the payback for their deeds.
Prayer: Lord, I see so much evil in the world, that it is sometimes hard t remember that you truly are in charge, you see it, too, and you hate it, too. Lord, protect the innocent and bring the guilty to justice. And for me, Lord, help me to remember that you are in charge; help me to follow you closely, to speak out when wrongs are done, even when supposedly done in your name; help me to be the person you have called me to be, focused on you and following your lead in all I say and all I do.
Emily Montofrt
