“When evil people are not punished right away, it makes others want to do evil, too.”
(Eccl 8:11NCV)
According to Scriptures, God is a good and compassionate God, who is slow to get angry and quick to forgive sins (Ex 34:6-7; Micah 7:18). Nevertheless, there are times He moves in very quickly to punish people for their sins, giving them no warning and leaving them no room for repentance.
For instance, when Nadab and Abihu, two of the sons of Aaron, offered an unauthorized fire before the Lord, they were both instantly consumed by fire from the presence of the Lord. They did not get any warning; neither were they given any opportunity to ask for forgiveness. They were simply executed by God instantly. The experience so shocked Aaron, their father, that he was speechless. (Cf. Lev 10:1-3)
Also, when Uzzah, one of the young men guiding the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord when it was being moved up to the city of David, touched the Ark to keep it from falling off the cart it was placed on, God wasted no time in striking him dead. No room for was given him for repentance or to seek forgiveness. His execution was immediate. And that got David so afraid that he was no longer willing at the time to take the Ark into his house. (Cf. 2Sam 6:1-11)
In addition, when Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied to Peter and the other apostles about the proceeds from a land of theirs that they sold, they were instantly judged and killed by God. They were not given any space to repent or seek forgiveness. Their execution by God was instant. And this, of course, brought fear on everyone in the church then and other outsiders who heard. So, those who were not truly Christians did their best to stay away from believers’ meetings, if they were not seeking salvation. (Cf. Acts 5:1-14)
Now why did God act swiftly in executing judgment in all the three cases I mentioned above? Why did He not leave any room for those involved to repent and be forgiven their sins? It was to discourage others from taking Him lightly and carrying on in sin.
As Solomon points out in our opening text, in most cases, when people are not punished right away for doing wrong things, others around them will mostly likely feel free to do evil. They will start functioning under the assumption that there are perhaps no consequences for doing evil. And before you know it, wrong things will just become normal for everybody. That is how societies become lawless ones.
But when someone does something wrong, and he is immediately judged and punished for it, regardless of his age, social status or religious status, others around them and those who hear about it will take instruction and begin to behave themselves. And that was exactly what happened in all the cases mentioned above. As soon as God judged those people, the attitudes of those around them to doing wrong things were changed. It became clear to them that God could respond in judgment to wrongdoings anytime and without warning. Therefore, His instructions about righteous living must not be taken lightly or for granted.
In like manner, if we want to get rid of lawlessness in our homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces and country as a whole, we must learn to act like God. Yes, He is loving, kind and slow to anger. But there are times He executes judgment quickly to stop the spread of evil. So, we too must know when to be quick and swift in punishing wrong doings. We don’t need to punish everybody all at once. We just need to use some individuals as examples. The idea is to use such punishments to prevent wrongdoings from becoming a norm.
Therefore, if, as one in a position of authority, those under you are acting lawless and irresponsible, you need to know that it is because you have not punished wrongdoings enough. And if you truly want to arrest the situation, you don’t need to start preaching or appealing to people to change their ways; you just need to use your authority to make scapegoats of certain individuals. But will you be willing to do that? Will you be willing to use your authority to control the spread of evil, or will you let emotions and sentiments get in the way?
Yes, we know from scriptures that we cannot totally eradicate evil from this world. But we can, at least, limit its spread by being immediate in judging some wrong acts. And I pray that your heart will be strengthened and emboldened to use your position and influence where you are to hinder evil and promote righteousness.
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By: J.O. Lawal | Date: July 08, 2020 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 3, No. 8