He is on the varsity tennis team as a ninth grader and in the tournament, was playing a 10th-grade teammate. The conditions were not ideal for tennis with gusting 50 MPH winds wreaking havoc on both players and especially, the ball. The 10-grader didn’t handle the conditions well, though he was a superior player. He threw his racquet a few times in anger before getting a warning from the tournament director, and continued to scream obscenities throughout the match. Later in the match, though winning, he missed a shot he thought he should have made and rather than smash a racquet and be penalized, turned and drilled a ball to the other side of the court. It made a beeline at the head of his teammate and opponent, my student, who blocked the missile with his hand and didn’t say a word.
Wow! A 14-year-old kid, who is not a Christian, handled it better than I did (as I was angry) and certainly better than I would have had I been the opponent. I had no idea how I would have handled the same event, even as a Christian, as my blood was boiling simply watching the kid through his temper tantrums. The tournament director told me that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree as his exceedingly wealthy father was disregarding the rules by coaching his son during the match the previous weekend and told his son, “If you win the next point, I’ll give you $5,000.” As much as I wanted to have the kid defaulted for bad conduct, I kept my mouth and opinion out of the situation. Sadly, the misbehaving brat went on to win.
We all have many situations in our lives where the wicked seem to prosper. It often seems like doing the right thing goes hand-in-hand with finishing last, as humility, meekness and godliness are not regarded by the world as winning attributes. King David waxed poetic in many psalms, feeling that same way, as he seemed to be watching his enemies gaining advantages. Then he wrote,
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD,
They shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psalm 37:1-11
Someday, we will live in a time when evil, and evil people, are gone! Until that time, we are to trust in the Lord, knowing that He continues to be in charge of our lives. Don’t forget that those not serving the Lord are captives of the evil one, just as each of us used to be before Jesus opened our eyes. Pray for them and don’t fall into the trap the enemy sets for us to sink to their level of anger and hatred. How did Jesus handle it? “He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He opened not His mouth,” according to Isaiah 53!
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