Do not fret because of evildoers; that’s the opening of Psalm 37. Most of us recognize the nature of fretting as being worried about something we have no direct control over. A trip through the dictionary will reveal that there are physical meanings to the word that give more insight to the insidious nature of being vexed over the uncontrollable. You will find a sense of cutting a groove through chaffing or wear, corrosion, or even agitation. Hence, properly understood, don’t fret. It will corrode your sense of well-being and wear you down.
As the Psalm spoke to me today about evildoers, I found my thoughts going to the masterminds in government and finance. These are men whose sphere of evil influence encompasses us all, in that they are convinced of their right to impose their twisted ideals on the rest of us. That these men occupy my thoughts at all reveals that I have not yet successfully given these worries to the Almighty. Look at the passage closely. His faithfulness to uphold those who are His own is the very core of this passage.
It is the Heart of God to uphold those who love Him. If we draw close in a relationship with Him, the machinations of evildoers pales in the distance. As I have asked Him about the evildoers, He has reminded me that they are empty and lost. Having rejected help by His Heavenly power, they are rudderless derelicts driven by an evil wind. I pray for them, that some glimmer of truth might dawn to turn them from their self-imposed path of destruction. Especially since they intend to take us with them. How much better that they should see the light and turn from evil than to continue the drive us toward shipwreck.
I had an epiphany regarding this situation during my morning prayer-time earlier this week. John 15:5 recounts Jesus’ statement that apart from Him, we can do nothing. He was talking to those who were already followers, so this should be understood to mean “Unless you abide in Me, you can do nothing effective for the purposes of God” (good). I see that all the effort to drive God from the public arena, under the banner of “separation of church and state”, guarantees that government can do nothing good as long as that mistaken belief holds sway. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying here. I am a strong believer in the constitutional tenet that government must not do anything to establish a religion or interfere with the free practice thereof. However, if the officers of government are godless men (whatever their assertions), then the course of the nation is determined by an evil wind.