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.
The Arnold Journey 