An Outlook on Evil

One of the issues that bedevils believers of whatever religion (or none!) is that of the problem of evil.

In spite of the wisdom and inspiration and help offered by the world's Wisdom Traditions, it seems that evil in the world continues virtually unabated. Of course, focusing on it, (as the news often does) and paying scant attention to all the good that is always going on tends to distort our vision. Still, we all need some help with finding a perspective on evil that keeps us from sinking into cynicism, despair, or numbness when we consider its presence and ill effects in our lives and in the world.

Today's reading from Psalm 37 offers us a particular perspective on the presence of evil in society and in our lives which might be helpful to you. That's for you to judge. Consider these words:

Do not fret yourself over evildoers

or envy the prosperity of the perverse.

They will sooner or later wither like grass,

and fade away like cut flowers.

Instead, trust in God and do good.

Live in the land gratefully, and feed on God's faithfulness.

If you delight yourself in God,

you will be given the desires of your heart.

If you put your burdens on God's shoulders,

you will be free of them, and God will act in your behalf.

God will make your integrity shine like the daylight,

and your beauty glow like the moon and the sun.

Rest in God, and wait patiently for God to act.

Do not worry if evil seems to prosper in the world.

Abstain from rage, and do not let fury consume you.

You are the one who will be hurt most if you hold on to your anger.

Be sure that all who oppress others will be cut off.

But those who wait patiently for God will surely inherit the earth.

Wickedness will not last forever.

When you look for it, the day will come when it is gone.

It is the poor in spirit who will inherit the earth,

who will be blessed with plenty and peace.

It is true that evildoers hate those who work for justice.

They threaten them with violence.

But God is not mocked by the unjust.

Their day of reckoning always comes.

The wicked may wield their power to crush the poor and needy,

to slaugter those who work for justice.

But their own violence shall descend on their heads,

and their power shall be broken.

It is far better to have little, and live justly

than to be rich and wicked.

For the wicked will be overthrown,

but God will uphold the righteous.

God acknowledges the lives of the just,

blessing them with an enduring heritage.

They survive evil times, and are strengthened during their trials.

But those who oppose God and scorn goodness are like weeds that wither in the fields.

They are like smoke disappearing into thin air.

The unjust take advantage of others, and borrow without paying back.

But those with integrity give generously.

They are blessed by God, and will inherit the land.

The unjust will lose whatever they possess.

The steps of people who live with integrity are guided by God,

who takes great delight in their ways.

Though they fall, they shall surely rise again.

My response:

The "Arab spring" of this year (2011) as well as events like the fall of the Berlin Wall, apartheid, and the Soviet Union, all seem to me to be evidence of the truth of the outlook this Psalm expresses.

That may be selective seeing, but it gives me hope, and strength of purpose in the face of the world's evils.

I know when I get angry, fail to trust that God is still working for good in everything, and grow cynical, I am harming myself and contributing nothing to the goodness which God is establishing, whether or not I can see it.

My prayer therefore is this:

God of mercy and justice, help me not to fret over evildoers, but to trust more and more in the power of Your Good Presence and Power. Help me not to give power to evil but only to good, by keeping my attention on what You are doing for good, and living in a way that helps it to grow ever greater. Amen.