March 29, 2025 | Job 21:1-16

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Job 21:1-16

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REFLECTION

Responding to the Wicked

By Todd Marti

This passage describes a hard truth: the wicked often get away with it and even prosper. Anyone who’s lived long enough has seen that, and other scriptures acknowledge that reality. See Psalm 73; Jeremiah 12:1-3; Malachi 3:13-15.  Although God will eventually bring the wicked to justice, Psalm 73:16-20, 27; Proverbs 11:3-5; Malachi 3:18, how do we respond in the meantime? What does scripture tell us?

One thing is to draw near to God. Psalm 73 shows how one righteous person responded to wickedness in his day. He noted that the success of the wicked  “troubled [him] deeply till [he] entered the sanctuary of God; then [he] understood their final destiny.” Psalm 73:16-17.  He concluded that it “is good to be near God” and to make “the Sovereign Lord [his] refuge.” Psalm 73.28. We see the same thing in Jeremiah 12:1-3; the prophet was not shy in bringing his frustrations to God. So pour your heart out to Him, let Him know your concerns, ask Him for guidance on how to respond to the evil you see. And just as importantly, pray for those who are doing evil. Matthew 5:44; Praying for Leaders: Why, When, and How .  My experience is that more prayer brings more peace.

Another thing scripture tells us is to draw encouragement from Christian community. Malachi 3:16 describes how believers responded to evil in their day: “Those who feared the Lord talked with each other and the Lord listened and heard.” That is consistent with Hebrews 10:24's instruction to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” It is also consistent with relatively recent history; Christian community helped folks cope with the evils of Communism and Jim Crow. It can help us deal with evil in our time.

Scripture also tells us to get busy doing the good we can do. Psalm 37 deals with how the righteous are to respond to the success of the wicked. It tells us, among other things, to get to work. Verse 3 tells us to “[t]rust in the Lord and do good[.]”  That is reiterated in verse 27: “Turn from evil and do good[.]” The Hebrew word translated as “do” means to work, act, be industrious.  Find some positive things you can do to offset the evil around you. For some that might be directly confronting that evil, pushing back against it. For others it might be mitigating its impacts. For still others it is delivering other manifestations of God’s love. We all have something we can do. There are an infinite number of opportunities to do this; some close to home are described here, here, here, here, here, and here. So get out of your head and get to work! You and the people you serve will be glad you did.

PRAYER

Loving God, help us to respond wisely to the evil in this world. Draw us to you, draw us to your church, spur us to action. We ask this in Jesus’ infinitely loving name. Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TODD MARTI

I have been connected to UALC since 2000 in various small groups and as a co-manager of the UALC Community Garden. I’m married to Kelly Marti, and the proud father of Sarah Marti. I am happy to be writing these devotions.

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