Day 3: The Evildoer

“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou
envious against the workers of iniquity.” Psalm 37:1

This month we will be focusing on this chapter in the book of Psalm. The entire book of Psalms is a comfort and encouragement to us as Christians, but this chapter is especially rich with many golden nuggets for us to glean from. I can picture David now sitting before his keyboard pondering what to share in this chapter. We find that his musings drew him down a long, winding path that day.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, writers often will share their story … or at the least, their particular style will be   evident. This is the way that David wrote. He had his own style of writing and more often than not, he shared his personal experiences. Personal life experiences can be complete game changers in our lives as Christians. It has been said that we cannot live long enough to learn everything so we must also learn from the lives of others. So, let us see what we can learn from David today!

First, let us look at the word evildoer. The word is a compound word. What is a compound word? Two words put together but when separated mean a completely different thing. Well, that is good to know! So how do we apply it to this word? Well, we do not. Why? Because that rule would not apply here. The definition of evildoer is a person who commits       immoral or wrong deeds. What are the definitions of evil and doer? Evil is what is immoral or wrong. A doer is a person that acts upon something or simply does something. So an evil doer would mean the exact same thing as evildoer does! Interesting!

In this day and age, we have become very proficient with words, have we not? We can make them sound like whatever we want them to sound like with no regards to what we really mean or whether we even mean them or not. “Are we  going to see you in Sunday School on Sunday?” “Yes.” But, then you never show up. Does this sound familiar? So, even a simple three letter word can make us into an evildoer. No matter what we say, our actions will always speak louder! They will always show the truth in our hearts and minds. Beware, my friend!

What else do we see in this verse? “Fret not.” Did David have to be so blunt … especially at the very beginning? Could he not have watered it down a bit to make it easier to swallow? Evidently he could not. So, that leaves it in our ballcourt to digest and to put into practice. This is a hard one. I tend to be a worrier and over-analyze everything. When it comes to those doing evil around and to me, it does not help make it any easier either.

I tend to worry over the why. “Why are these people like this to me, God?” “Why do you not judge them, God?” “Why do they get away with acting and treating me like this, God?” “Why, why, why?!” Is this ringing a bell? Maybe you and I need to find our faces on the ground in prayer today asking God to take all the worry and fret from our thoughts and our hearts. Instead, let us find peace through our obedience … “fret not.” Let us find hope and rest in God’s promise … “for evildoers shall be cut off …” Psalm 37:9 Amen!