Getting Even

 June 9, 2021

“I don’t get mad; I get even!” How often I’ve heard that sentiment even on the lips of Christians (in jest, of course!) A college psychology prof from years ago once noted in a lecture that we only joke about what we’re serious about. Getting even is at the heart of our polarized politics, and most of the conflicts we see worldwide, so it really is no joking matter. Getting even is rooted in quite a proper sense of justice, in the desire to have wrongs righted, injustices corrected. The problem is, our own sense of right and wrong is usually somewhat biased, so in our attempts to even the score, we make things worse.

In Psalm 9, David prays for justice to be done. He sees situations needing vindication, but he approaches the problem of injustice differently than we usually do. He begins with praise for all God has done in the past (vv.1-6). He deals with his present circumstances in light of what God has done in the past. The present isn’t a series of isolated incidents; it has a history, and for David, that history is centered in God’s deliverance of his people from slavery.

Where we might be tempted to approach the situation chronologically, in vv. 7-10, David transitions from the history he knows to the future he anticipates, with the expectation that God will act consistently the way he has in the past and the way he will in the future. What this means for the present is that it is not yet the time for judgment, which means we have no direct part to play in judgment; all we do is pray for God to do what is right in his time. We can pray confidently for our present situation based on what we have seen God do in the past, and what our faith tells us about our future hope. In all this, the plea is for God to deal with the enemy. It is not our place to do so, which means getting even is never God’s plan for us. We don’t get to administer justice; it’s not yet time for it, and when the time comes, God himself will take care of it. 

This doesn’t mean we are destined to live in anarchy, but that personally, we are expected to live peaceable lives as much as possible. These texts deal with our personal attitudes, not with public and political matters. My own attitude when wronged needs to move from “I don’t get mad; I get even,” to “Pray for those who despitefully use you. Do good to them who speak evil against you.” If we left more judgment in God’s hands, we wouldn’t have such messes on our own.