A WORD TO THE WISE: Proverbs 28: 28. "The Triumph of Evil"

Proverbs 28: 28     When the wicked arise, men hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous increase.

Proverbs 28: 28.  Not every line in the book of Proverbs is direct advice.  Some statements are simply factual observations about how life works.

Proverbs 28: 28 states a true principle that is also a sad fact.  When we see wrong continually done at high levels of power and influence the general response of the public is to stop doing right at our level of power and influence.   Then, when the bad people lose their audience, or get arrested, or lose the election--- then we see an upsurge in charity and good works.  It becomes O.K. again to live the way God told us to.

That’s what happens.  That’s not the way it’s supposed to be.

One of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s favorite quotes was a statement by an 18^th century Irish political philosopher named Edmund Burke.  He said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

We assume that when evil rises good men/ people are supposed to rebel against the evil people in power.  From the American Revolution to the Civil Rights Movement to the Arab Spring, there’s certainly an honored place for protest.

But.

Evil doesn’t triumph mainly because good people don’t march against it.  Evil mainly triumphs because good people stop doing good to each other.

An official government policy of segregation fails where the people of the community simply choose to cross racial lines and treat each other as equals.

A decades-long ban on officially sanctioned prayer in schools ceases to be a spiritual stronghold when the churches produce such bold Christian children that every child at the cafeteria table bows his/her head and thanks God before eating, that children lay hands on one another and pray for broken legs and runny noses.

A heartless rule criminalizing homelessness loses its teeth when the churches and the Christians open their doors to strangers.

The controversy over government-funded abortion devolves into a moot point when we teach our sons and daughters the biological truth about their bodies, raise them to value the sanctity of their sexual selves, and stop enabling and excusing their sins so we don’t have to feel bad about ours.

If we stopped hiding when wicked people, ideas, or policies rise---- then evil would not triumph.

It is an act of dishonor for the people of God, for a person of God to wait for the culture or the Congress to change before doing what God has called us to do.  That’s what generally happens.    But it shouldn’t be that way.  It doesn’t have to be that way.

 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation.

 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.
We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (Hebrews 6: 9-12, NIV)

To misquote Edmund Burke:  All that is necessary for triumph over evil is that good men & women do what they are supposed to do.

---Anderson T. Graves II

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is the pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church

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