The Final Score: Evil Loses & Righteousness Wins
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(19) Truly the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death. (20) The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse, but He delights in those whose ways are blameless. (21) Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.’ (Proverbs 11:19-21)
Proverbs 11, to summarize, is a chapter based on man’s Righteousness obtained through being loving toward his fellow man. Whether it is in business dealings, personal interactions, or sharing provisions, the writer of Proverbs 11 (likely Solomon) provides that those who follow God and His precepts will be righteous and be found favorable to God in their blamelessness (though they will not be sinless – nobody’s perfect except Jesus).
Those who follow their own precepts or another person’s dogma become ‘perverse’ or worldly. Following another plan other than God’s Plan brings evil. We see this today in many forms and factors; Hamas’ actions against Israel are evil as it is not of God or from God to attack, destroy, rape, murder, and kidnap others. There is no love or care shown in these actions and when one sees ‘care’ by Hamas in the release of the hostages, it is a false care that is demonstrated as they have not repudiated that which they did in the first place to get to this point.
While we see the retaliation by the Israelis decimating Gaza City, we may believe the wicked, Hamas and those Palestinians who support Hamas (which is almost the whole population of Gazans) are being punished and seeing the devastation quite so. But we can also point to many who are behind plots to control people worldwide; through mass migration, political sway, global crises (food, energy, climate), and media manipulation. Many who are ‘pulling the strings’ within these plots are among the world’s elites, and often we question ‘where are their consequences?’. This question arises back in Job’s time where in Job 21 Job himself ponders this question. Often evil people live out full lives, greatly enriched in money and power from those they have taken advantage of. Where is their punishment for their sins?
We Christians realize, however, that one does not get away with doing evil or unrighteous things. There is a Judgement that comes where a person’s actions will be on trial. If members of Hamas, or those who plot to enrich themselves fraudulently or enslave others in unsavory practices, are unrepentant and hold onto their evil plans, their punishment will be eternal as shown in Revelation 20:11-16, where they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, along with Satan and his minions. This is not just reserved for the terrorist or the rich, but for anyone who fails to repent of their sins and accept Jesus as their Lord.
Conversely, those who may be loving yet unrewarded in their mortal life, who give what they can out of what little they have, who show mercy to those they may not like, and have made the decision to follow Christ and His way, will be rewarded eternally, becoming members of the everlasting Church of the Saints, or Jesus’ ‘bride’ as described in Revelation 19:6-9.
Do not be fooled by those who try to glorify or paint a veneer of ‘pseudo-righteousness’ on evil. Despite appearances, Hamas is not caring, and those enriched by craving power and wealth through deceitful actions; neither are role models and they will not ‘get away with it’. Understand and through the Holy Spirit discern the Truth, and the true wealth of the Spirit provided by living a life mirroring Jesus and His examples, having accepted Him and providing your repentance to Him.
