I reflect today on the opening strophes of Psalm 36 as we pray them in Morning Prayer (Lauds). Here are verses 2-5.
| The Universalis Translation | From the English Breviary | From the NAB Translation |
| Evil whispers to the sinner in the depths of his heart: the fear of God does not stand before his eyes. Evil’s flattering light disguises his wickedness, so that he does not hate it. His words are false and deceitful, he no longer considers how to do good. Even when in bed he plots mischief; he follows the wrong path; he does not hate malice. | Sin speaks to the sinner in the depths of his heart। There is no fear of God before his eyes. He so flatters himself in his mind that he knows not his guilt. In his mouth are mischief and deceit. All wisdom is gone. He plots the defeat of goodness as he lies on his bed. He has set his foot on evil ways, he clings to what is evil.
| Sin directs the heart of the wicked man; his eyes are closed to the fear of God. For he lives with the delusion: his guilt will not be known and hated. Empty and false are the words of his mouth; he has ceased to be wise and do good. On his bed he hatches plots; he sets out on a wicked way; he does not reject evil.
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In all three versions we can see that the psalmist understands the predilection of one under the influence of Evil. I use Evil with the capital “E” because we must treat it with respect. Personified it is a fallen angel; Satan, the Evil One, Beelzebub or any one of the thousands of names attributed to the Devil.
How do we know Evil when we see it? How do we fight against it? How do we avoid falling under its influence and becoming like the one to whom the psalmist refers? These are questions of utmost importance to those of us concerned with doing God’s will.
Let’s consider this battle as we might lay out the rules for a contest (given that the Olympics are taking place, this seems appropriate). The principle difference between the contest between God and the Evil One is that the rules are not the same for both sides. Here are the rules as I see them:
| Rules for Team Evil | Rules for Team Divine |
| Those who love evil may lie, but their favorite tactic is to “bend” the truth – take a proven truth and twist it so it becomes false. | Those who do Christ’s will, must always seek and speak the truth. |
| Those who love evil will take advantage of another person whenever possible as long as it serves their own ends. They respect no one, even in many cases themselves. | Those who love God will treat others with respect due every human person. |
| Those who serve the Evil One embrace greed and seek to possess as much wealth as possible; taking it from any source even from those who have little. | Those who serve the Lord share what they have and show mercy to others, especially those who are poor and in need. |
| Those who serve Satan seek only to wield power over others for their own gain and will take any steps necessary to achieve their ends. | Those who serve the Lord invite others to share their good fortune and the love of God. |
There are obviously more rules for both sides but this captures the obvious differences. The one question that immediately rises out of these differences is; “How in the world could good ever hope to overcome evil?” At each turn, the rules under which those who serve the Lord are bound are at a disadvantage compared to those not so encumbered.
Let us take a real world example. Let us say that a civil government wished to stamp out the influences of Christianity in order that those in power could gain even greater power and personal wealth. First they would need to convince those they could not coerce that Christianity was not desirable.
They would correctly reason that, in a secular world young people (below the age of 40) have two great loves; money and sex. Well, the government can’t really give away money because they must get it from the people they govern (although there are many of those constituents that seem to think that the government can do exactly that).
But what about sex! That is something they can give those who want it. That is they can take away the consequences. They would first provide free contraception so anyone could have sex with anyone else without the need to worry about God’s intended consequence – children – the gift of life. Those who care only about self-gratification – hedonism will grasp at this. They need not worry that their sexual partner may be degraded, humiliated, or scared emotionally. Ah, you might say, but contraception is not fail-safe. What happens if there is an unwanted consequence? That’s easy enough, right, let’s offer abortions for free as well. Then all the bases are covered.
Let’s go further. Let’s also make it a crime to call homosexual relationships disordered. Let them have sex for the sake of self-destruction if they wish. And they can call it “freedom” and make it sound like a good thing.
And when the Christians cry out that this is against God’s will, who wants to listen? We give you sex, all Christianity gives you is guilt. How can God’s faithful fight against that? What can we offer that will answer the secular mind set that only asks “What’s in it for me?”
Those of us who truly understand the word freedom understand that hedonism is not freedom, secular greed is not freedom, it is slavery for some and for others an addiction as bad as alcoholism or drugs. Freedom in a world governed by God’s rules means each person is precious in not only God’s eyes but in the eyes of each member of the faith community. With mutual love (not lust) comes an inner peace that can best be likened to a child’s peace. One who knows they are loved and safe in the care of their parents.
This, of course, is not even the greatest gift that comes with embracing the Lord. The greatest gift is the promise of life eternal. And therein lays the rub. When most people, even in our country, one of the most prosperous in the world, do not even plan for their retirement years. How do we hold up something as ethereal as “Eternal Life” as a benefit that will draw people to the truth?
We do have some additional advantages. Words like joy, peace, and contentment are not generally part of the vocabulary of those who love Sin. As much as they would like to challenge us on that point, those who love things are not loved in return. Those who seek only their own personal pleasure find it is lonely when they have no one to share it with. Face it, the greedy would find friends who are like minded and those friends are not willing to share, even a friend’s joy.
So what are we to do? We, who love God and are bound by the rules of the Divine Team, continue to follow those rules, finding our reward in God’s favor and grace. We turn the other cheek and give more than we are asked and expect our reward in deferred grace. In this way, like the neighbor who envies the lawn next door, those who see us will seek to follow – not easily, but inevitably. It is not efficient, but God’s never been one for efficiency.
Pax
