A Psalm 37 Reflection for Today

Fret not yourself because of evildoers

~A Psalm of David, Chapter 37 Verse 1

It’s been a pattern that my best, most honest writing begins with a splinter under my skin. By nature, I am an overly positive, hope-filled person (Enneagram 7, folks). So, it seems odd that the bother births the blogging. The fact is, it is far too easy to fret at evildoing these days.

However, being a Christian enables me to always inject Kingdom principles into the commentary on the mayhem around us.

And mayhem is the right word for this week. Having spent six days sick in bed, I consumed more cable news than I otherwise would in six months. The fallout commentary on the Rittenhouse trial has confounded me. Why do so many outlets and pundits lazily lay cause for the dreadful shootings at the feet of: Whiteness?  

A white kid shoots three young white men, and next, Merriam Webster races to update what white supremacy means. And why not? Considering that men can now menstruate and women are named birthing people, it’s like we’re living in the days of the Tower of Babel II. Except, instead of God confusing human language, He’s watching us do it to ourselves.

There was little serious talk about the Defund Police initiatives and how law enforcement was essentially constrained to stand down as Kenosha burned. There was also very little coverage of the three rioters who were shot, their activities that night, or precisely how violent and destructive the mobs were.

How many cities have been permanently scarred by the destructive maturation of organized rioting in 2020 and 2021? How many more must fall until the collective conscious of a nation says: Enough!

Next was the demonic attack of innocent parade-goers an hour away from Kenosha. Darrel Brooks, who has a rap sheet most career demoniacs could only dream of, decided to drive through police barriers and race his car for blocks, indiscriminately running over people of all ages. 

His activist-rich social media pages included the quote, “The key to running people over is, do not slow down.”

To watch the carnage was earth-stopping for me. We can’t begin to envision what those victims and families are going through right now. Lord have mercy.

But, imagine this; Brooks was arrested and released just ten days prior for fighting with police and — wait for it — intentionally running over his child’s mother.

Next, major high-end retailers such as Louis Vuitton, Nordstrom, Saint Laurent, et. al., are being systematically looted by flash mobs during business hours. If you thought watching people steal $949.00 worth of Walmart booty was appalling, wait until you see 30 cars block the streets as 50-100 thieves crash-and-grab their way through a store, stealing items once reserved for; shoppers with money. Shopping: What an oppressive, archaic thought.

The hard leftists have begun writing philosophical treatises around the benefits of looting (no joke).

In another crime scene, the crash-and-grab Democrats feverishly stuffed the Build Back Better bill through the House. Any American citizen who lives, works, and has a family in this country should pray to God this bill doesn’t get through the Senate. That is not a political statement nor a simple admonishment that we can’t afford it.  

No, the provisions in this bill will quite literally transform this country into an entirely different thing from what it has been since its inception. Biden made preposterous promises at the World Economic Forum, and the poisoned seeds of the early make-goods on those promises are in this bill. If you think Globalization holds a bright future, methinks you may not understand what it is.  

And before you roll your eyes, get your hands on that bill and start reading.

We could talk about other destructive Biden policies, but the splinter in my palm might well become a log in his eye. Who could have imagined the international debacle of the Afghanistan surrender, the Executive Order that made us once again dependent on foreign oil, the removal of our southern border, the totalitarian vaccine mandates that have destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, the empty shelves, and the utter failure of our supply chains?  

How are we not to fret over so much evildoing?

For they will soon be cut down and wither like grass

~Verse 2

Here in New England, we have the fullness of four seasons. There comes a time in deep Fall when the grass is cut one last time before it withers into dormancy to endure the snows of winter. 

Without delving into Theology, I do not believe we are constrained to simply endure evildoers until the end of this world. (Which is good, because AOC’s theology tells us we are within ten years of that event).

Because, as righteous people rise up, the snows recede and Spring arrives. Creation blooms a Genesis-like rebirthing! Renewed life bursts its way through the dozing suspension as budding branches and fruiting trees promise an abundant provision of the land’s finest in sights, smells, and savor.

Gas up the mower, for behold; the dawning of a new season is coming.

Turn from evil and do good, then you will enjoy lasting peace

~ Verse 27

But how? In so many ways, it feels as if evildoers have launched us into an endless winter and Punxsutawney Phil has abandoned the stump.  

But God…

God has not set the game board for evil to stridently advance unabated until the end of the age. No, before there was evil on the earth, he charged His image-bearers:

Elohim blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it; righteously rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves.’

~ God, as captured in Genesis 1

Heaven’s mandate to steward the Earth makes the Green New Deal look like a washed-up Vaudeville Act. But that is what happens when the image-bearers go their own way.

You see, we are not only created in His image but can also be endued with transforming power — if we choose to accept that mission.

Scripture first tells us; every human is created in the image of God. Watch, as the Meta-verse foolishly strives to be a pseudo-creator of life. A life so inferior, it’s virtual. Their very best work will forever pale in comparison to the reality of right now: Human beings, bearing the Imago Dei, moving through the Earth.

And while we all share in this reality, this next state of man is a rather binary proposition:

Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…

~ The Apostle Paul

I always push back on dualistic propositions, but in this case, it applies. There are only two states of being, which means; you are living in one or the other.

The first, or natural state of being, is to conform to the patterns of this world. The phrase used here in the original language is akin to; Do not be schematized.

People who work with databases know this well, as the schema is the structure in which data is stored. For the non-techies, think; a well-organized container.  

A schema, in itself, has no value or worth. Its only purpose is to hold the data elements found in the systems of this world.  Unfortunately, the data of this world comes to us via news outlets, politics, universities and social media.

The second state of being is the eternal opposite to the first. To be transformed is translated; to be metamorphosed. For you movie buffs of the ’90s:

The significance of the moth is; change. Caterpillar, into chrysalis, or pupa, and from thence into beauty

~ Dr. H.L.

To be transformed is to wholly become a new creation, akin to the caterpillar’s metamorphosis into butterfly.

Behold, you are a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come

~ The Apostle Paul to the Church at Corinth

But how does this happen? By the renewing of your mind. This is no restructuring of a data container. This is a complete demolition and renovation which transcends the physical and reaches into the spiritual.

…lay aside the old way of doing things which is corrupted with deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Put on the new man who has been created in God’s image - in righteousness and holiness that comes from Truth

~ The Apostle Paul’s Letter to Ephesus

A Tale of Two Worlds

With careful intentionality, the first half of this piece is starkly different from the second. The first half is a snapshot of the patterns of this world. The second half offers a view into transformation and renewal.  

Which do you find yourself gravitating to? Which raises emotions of calm, and which angers you? Which yields peace, and which makes you feel unsafe? Which seems good, and which seems…lacking?

To say it another way; unless this invitation in the second half has happened to you, the first half will forever trouble you and cause restlessness, offense, and separation.  

Jesus explained the path by which this metamorphosis can happen to you. Follow me. Be healed. Repent, for the Kingdom of God is here. And;

No one can come into life in the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and Spirit

~Jesus

To be born of water is the demolition of self and resurrection in Christ through baptism. To be born of Spirit is the complete renovation and renewal of the mind and nature.  

You have probably heard this phrase used specifically for entrance into heaven after death. But here, Jesus is presenting to us a Kingdom that is present now and at work in and around us today.   

This is an invitation to take part in something eternal.  Now.

It’s here we find true identity. When we know our identity, we find our purpose, And when we find purpose, we find an endless supply of love, power, justice, and mercy — all rooted in the truth — which can not only push back the evildoers but restore them as well.