Day 69 with David: Ultimately, evil always loses to righteousness.

“Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually. Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭52:1-5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

My father used to tell a story about two very different men who died and had to face the crossing of chilly Jordan. One man had lived his life unto himself, gathering and holding tightly to his riches and possessions, all the while boasting of his power and prestige. The other man had lived a righteous life, carrying his large, unwieldy cross on his shoulders wherever he went. As you can imagine, the cross would bump into people, knocking some over, and would keep him from being able to enter into certain places; overall, the cross was a burdensome encumbrance. This man also died and faced Jordan’s chilly tide. The evil man, who depended on his own riches, walked into the water to his ankles, to his knees, to his waist, to his shoulders, ultimately disappearing under the water’s surface. The possessions and riches now served as an anchor, dooming his soul. The man who had carried his cross, when coming to Jordan, also stepped in ankle deep, knee deep, waist deep, but as the water rose around him, the cross became buoyant, serving as a raft, taking him across the chilly tide into eternal life.

As a young girl I could just imagine how it felt for that heavy cross to suddenly now be supporting—not only its own weight—but the weight of the one who had carried it through his life.

To say that it never seems that evil is winning, would be disingenuous, and in fact, a lie. The Bible is full of stories of evil doers who—for a period of time—seemed to be winning over the righteous, but received their just deserts in the end.

Jesus told a story about an unnamed rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. The rich man lived a very opulent lifestyle, apparently doing nothing to help Lazarus who had been laid at the gate of his house, hoping to receive crumbs from the rich man’s table. When Lazarus died, he was received into the bosom of Abraham. When the rich man died, he was buried and found himself in the place of torment:

“And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭16:23-25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The moral of the story is not that being rich is evil, but that riches will not save an evil person in the end. In fact, nothing will save an evil person in the end. Their glory is oh so temporary.

In our portion from Psalms today we see David reacting to a betrayal from Doeg the Edomite who had revealed to Saul that David had gone to the house of the priest for help. There he received bread for his men and the sword of Goliath. This betrayal by Doeg (who happened to be there at the priest’s house) would cost the lives of scores of priests and their families. It was the kind of evil deed we are so often staggered by today. We may well wonder how such evil could be allowed to continue, almost feeling a sense of helplessness, hopelessness, and despair. But, David encouraged himself through this imaginary conversation with Doeg, pointing out the fact that the righteous always win. In such a situation, we must also remember the rest of the story.

For today let us know and understand what David knew:

Ultimately, evil always loses to righteousness.

#100dayswithdavid