Praising the Wicked
By Rev. R.J. Rushdoony – bio
Category: Articles
(Reprinted from Bread upon the Waters: Columns from the California Farmer [Fairfax, VA: Thoburn Press, 1974], 93–94.)
CA Farmer 229:7 (Oct. 5, 1968), p. 37.
Praising the wicked, and rewarding them, seems to be the main purpose of our judges and legislators these days.
If this seems too strong a statement, then take it up with God because Scripture plainly declares, “They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them” (Prov. 28:4). The law in question is God’s law. If men abandon it, they are deserting not only law but righteousness and justice. They will therefore “praise the wicked” instead of contending with them, instead of trying to control and suppress evil.
Recently, I sat in a courtroom during hearings for two criminals, one caught in the commission of a crime, the other with a car he had stolen before witnesses. They were planning to plead innocent and were going to be provided with public defenders at taxpayers’ expense; those robbed would get no return, in one case for stolen funds and in the other case for a possibly damaged car. There was no thought in the court or law of the Biblical law of restitution. The penalty was being paid by the victims in many hours lost in the courtroom, lost goods, and taxes paid. The criminals, both with records, were dealt with gently, lest it prejudice the case, and the victims and police were questioned at times sharply.
A fair trail is a necessity under God’s law, but a court that continually penalizes the victims is in effect praising the wicked.
We need to ask the question, therefore, as to why men and nations praise the wicked. Birds of a feather flock together, and evil men will show their preference for evil, and guilty men will work to make justice ineffective lest it judge them also.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Prov. 29:18). A Biblical scholar, the Reverend Derek Kidner, has pointed out that the Hebrew for this verse can be translated literally as, where there is no prophecy or vision, that is, no preaching of the Word, “the people run wild.” Because there has been very little true preaching of the Word of God, the people run wild. And a wild people will praise the wicked.
Rev. R.J. Rushdoony (1916-2001) was the founder of Chalcedon and a leading theologian, church/state expert, and author of numerous works on the application of Biblical Law to society.
This particular article is dealing with our justice system, but it could also pertain to family and friend relationships. When someone has been deeply hurt by an unrepentant friend or family member, and continues to maintain a pattern of meanness, we often embrace the perpetrator rather than the victim.
ReplyDeleteI do not speak of the little character flaws or foibles of an individual, but the immense acts of wickedness done with intention to harm the victim. Covert cruel meanness intended to damage a reputation.
Christians especially embrace the perpetrator hoping to influence them in someway, forgetting that to protect the perpetrator is to indulge them in their acts of unkindness and even encourage them. This is disloyalty to the victim.
I have even seen believers rebuke the victim for being hurt emotionally, after all they need to be adult and just let the unkindness role off. God did not teach us to do this. All we have to do is consider the account of Job when he rebuked his friends for judging him. God also acknowledged the insensitivity of Job's friends as they assumed that Job must have sinned because of the tragedy that he was enduring.
Believers are not expected to keep company with wicked people who continually harm and will not repent. We are not to exact revenge, but we can remove ourselves from the constant manipulation in self protection. God says "do not keep company with an angry man."
We can trust the Lord to tell us when to move on and when not to, but we can not judge another person for their choice in this, because they may be hearing from the Lord and must do as He says even if we don't understand or like it.
Christ lives in us and He knows best. I am so glad He speaks to me.
When others are angry with someone, we can not assume that they have a reason to be, unless we were there to see for ourselves what happened.