“When the wicked rise, people hide themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase.” Proverbs 28:28
Devotional Thought For The Day
We can understand the nature of this dynamic. In fact, we no doubt have experienced it in our own lives and are perhaps living under such difficulty in certain areas of our lives even today. Whenever “wicked” people rise to positions of power, influence, and prestige, decent people are forced to hunker down and “hide” themselves. If you get on the radar you are likely to become a target of the powerful wicked. The fact that you are not in a position to defend yourself and that the powerful one targeting you is wicked does not bode well for you. We can think of all kinds of historical illustrations of this: Americans living in Pre-revolutionary times, Germans living under the Third Reich [Nazis], slaves living in America, blacks living in the Jim Crow south, Christians living in areas predominated by Muslims, etc..
Such dynamics influence people to become like the wicked, so that they can benefit from being in agreement with the values and behaviors of the powerful wicked rather than being targets. On the other hand, when the wicked are punished and perish, there is opportunity for humble, repentant, believing and God-fearing people to flourish – and unless they fill the vacuum some other wickedness [often much worse] is sure to fill the power gap. Then even greater suffering and wretchedness is sure to prevail, until God removes it. Much of human history can be understood by grasping this rather simple proverb, and much of current human life is illuminated by this reality.
This dynamic pertains not only to governments, but also to smaller groupings and interrelated clusters of human beings. The same principle prevails within work, whether a small business or large, or in smaller groupings within a larger corporation. A wicked boss can be tyrannical, if allowed to rise. The same is true within neighborhood associations, within local politics, in a police department, and even within the church. In fact, this latter evil – the wicked rising within the power structure of the institutional church, is one of the most wretched forms of evil. When this happens – whether within a parish, some larger institutional division, or the national body – it constitutes a direct attack on the very institution which is charged to keep and promote proper understanding of the distinctions between good and evil. If churchly institutions are lost to this purpose, and evil and wickedness is elevated even in the “church,” the true righteous can scarcely survive within it. If it continues to flourish, this is only because it is propped up by wicked people who appreciate the support and cooperation of that institution. What a woeful circumstance this creates for the righteous, and also for the wicked who are thus denuded of even the opportunity to repent and return to God. Their fate is sealed, and they will perish.
So we should pray for all associations of human beings, that the wicked do not rise to positions of power and influence, with the consequence that the righteous have to hide and true goodness cannot be publicly promoted. Certainly this is important in politics. It is also important in our work place. It is even more important within the life and fellowship of the church. The proverb is not talking about lapses into sin on the part of leaders – all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It is talking about those who are committed to evil and wickedness, whether they still know the distinctions and purposefully choose evil, or are oblivious to the wicked nature of their agenda and behaviors. It is talking about those who are impenitent and viciously opposed to true good. In that there are many who seek authority and power in order to press forward their own wicked and oppressive agendas, we should pray and do all that we can to thwart them and keep them out of power. Much is at stake, especially within government, work, and church, things that we can scarcely do without and that yield great consequences for society. Let us pray fervently and often!
Prayer For The Day
Lord, have mercy and preserve us from the rising and upward mobility of the wicked. Grant us times in which the righteous may flourish, when true goodness can be promoted and wickedness condemned. Help us to understand the importance of protecting these times, and of being highly active and aggressive in promoting what is good, that we do our part in staying and opposing the wicked. In those times when Your people are oppressed by the wicked, grant courage and constancy to maintain what is good even in persecution and martyrdom. Amen.