![[Photo of a Scripture verse]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/Psalm_34_21.jpg)
| “Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.” |
| —Psalm 34:21 |
Have you ever encountered someone truly wicked, someone who made your life more difficult, and you thought to yourself, “How does this person get away with what he does?” If you’ve had such an experience, you’re not alone.
Many of us, particularly in work situations, have encountered someone in power who uses that power to demean, harass, control, and make the lives of the persons reporting to that one miserable. Such a person often has extremely low self-esteem.
On rarer occasions, such a person may actually meet the definition psychologists use for a “sociopath.” Most often such a sociopath has no empathy for others, sees the world only as it relates to his or her ego, divides the world into people whom he or she can manipulate (“buddies”) and people whom he or she cannot manipulate (“targets”), and has the ability to skillfully lie about almost everything to get his or her own way.
King David recognized the burden that such people represent to God’s dearly loved children. That prompted David to write these words found in Psalm 34:21:
Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
The very acts these evil people commit will ultimately slay them. In addition, anyone who opposes God’s righteous children will be condemned by God and by others. So, it’s a very good idea to not wonder if such a one will always get away with what they do. They won’t.
The lesson for those of us who belong to God through Christ is that we must guard our minds and hearts so that we do not emulate the behavior of those who are truly evil. Making people afraid of you is not leadership. Winning people’s hearts works far more effectively than any other management philosophy. As we begin a new day, let’s remember to emulate Jesus. If we set our minds and hearts to doing that, we will not fall prey to the evil around us.
