Psalm 10:1-18
In
today’s politically correct world we often don’t name evil. Our society has
become afraid to put labels on people and behavior. As a result many people
don’t really know evil when they see it. In our society where we have been
taught that there are no moral absolutes, no rights and wrong that apply across
people, cultures, and time, it can be easy to get lost in the fog. But there
are rights and wrongs, good and evil. There are things that we can label.
Our
Psalm gives us a good start at understanding what evil looks like when it is
acted on. There are a series of characteristics which labeled by the writer as
being evil when acted upon. And at times, many of us have fleeting moments when
we feel these things. But for most of us, we don’t act on them. So what does
evil look like?
The
first on the list is arrogance. Arrogance is an inflated valuation of yourself.
You think too much of what you have to offer. You place yourself too high in
the pecking order, too high on the list of people who deserve to be at the top.
Arrogant people have little time or attention for those ‘below’ them. They
often exaggerate their own accomplishments and believe their own Public
Relations spins about themselves.
Arrogant
people are often schemers. They are jockeying for position, looking ahead for
the next move, trying to find the next person to step on in order to lift
themselves up. Their schemes often involve talking advantage of those they deem
lower on the ladder of social standing. They are usually pretty good at hiding
their motives and plans. They can often sell their plans as something good for
those they are stepping over to get ahead. But sometimes they don’t try to hide
their motives at all.
Evil
often breeds evil. Once the line is crossed, they begin to boast about the next
steps their hearts are scheming. It isn’t enough for them to do evil; they must
boast about the wicked brew that is stewing in their heart. And as a result,
their values get exposed. Their sense of right and wrong gets all twisted. They
end up blessing evil and snubbing the LORD. Their support for greed rises to
the surface. Te drive for most money and stuff consumes them, and they don’t
care about the LORD’s values.
Pride
takes over the person who rejects moral rights and wrongs. They have replaced
the LORD as the ultimate authority and taken that seat for themselves. They
become judge and jury. They get to say what is right and wrong. They leave the
LORD completely out of their equation. He doesn’t factor into what they do one
little bit. In fact, external standards, including the LORD’s standards, are
rejected.
In
his own eyes, the evil person becomes invincible. They think they alone will
escape the natural consequences of their evil actions. They are different. They
are untouchable.
Then
in order to support this twisted view of the world, lies become a normal part
of their life. They lie not only to themselves, but they push their lies on
others. They expect others to yield to their view of things. In the extreme,
they eliminate the competition and those who disagree with their worldview.
In
some cases they become what we would call stalkers. Not just the creepy
boyfriend, creepy girlfriend kind, but the plotting person intent on evil
stalking. They don’t just have a warped view of love and attachment, they want
to eliminate anyone or anything that stands in the way of them achieving what
they think they deserve. They are willing to watch and wait for their moment,
and when it comes they pounce mercilessly on their victim.
What
characterizes an evil person is their lack of accountability. They are not
under anyone’s authority. They think they can make the rules. Often they make
the rules in only a few areas of life. Every evil person doesn’t have to murder
in order to be evil, to be in need of a Savior. In fact, we all are evil, evil
enough to rightly deserve punishment. Some have a greater degree of evil active
in their lives. But we all miss the mark. If there were a heavenly lottery, the
best of us would miss the winning number by one digit. The worst would have no
numbers correct. But all would end up losing. The number has to be completely
correct or you lose.
We
all are in need of the Savior, Jesus Christ. We all have a bit of this evil
person in us. So we don’t need to act on that evil. We can submit our hearts
and our minds to the mind of the LORD.