SUNDAY DEVOTION: Waiting for Vindication

What to do when it feels like the world is against you

During my travels this month, I’ve been listening to an audiobook of William Cooper’s biography of John Quincy Adams, The Lost Founding Father. It’s been a great reminder that, no matter the time or place, people are still people, subject to the same foibles and excesses of ambition we see around us today.

Not only was Adams himself prone to common human failings such as self-doubt and pride, he also faced the same kind of personal attacks that remain the norm in politics today. Opponents attacked his character, lied about his positions, slandered his good name, and even went after his family. Yet Adams recognized an important truth: no matter how aggravating these attacks may be, most of them stemmed not from personal animosity, but simply from the nature of politics. In 1824, when Adams, Andrew Jackson, William Crawford, and Henry Clay were each vying for the presidency, it was only natural that they would use whatever tools they had to diminish their political rivals.

Keep that in mind when you face similar slanders today. In many cases, those attacking you aren’t doing so because what they say is true—indeed, such attacks are often full of lies and half-truths—nor because you’ve made some sort of mistake, but simply because you’re an obstacle to their political goals.

Still, it can be demoralizing to have your name dragged through the mud. The Bible tells the story of David, whose first appearance on the national stage was single-handedly defeating the giant Goliath in battle. From that moment on, he was set (against his will) on a collision course with Saul, King of Israel. It was only natural that his popularity would make enemies, and those enemies would use any means at their disposal to attack David and damage his reputation.

In Psalm 35, David laments his persecution and begs God to deliver and vindicate him:

Malicious witnesses rise up;
they ask me of things that I do not know.
They repay me evil for good;
my soul is bereft.

But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
they gathered together against me;
wretches whom I did not know
tore at me without ceasing;
like profane mockers at a feast,
they gnash at me with their teeth.

Psalm 35:11-12, 15-17 ESV

Yet such vindication is not always immediately apparent. Solomon, David’s son and successor, wrote in Ecclesiastes of how “evil” it is that judgment does not always come swiftly to the wicked:

It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all.

Ecclesiastes 9:2-3a ESV

Our Lord Jesus Christ took this observation a step further in the Sermon on the Mount:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

Matthew 5:43-46 ESV

While it is understandably frustrating to see your name maligned, and those who lie and slander seemingly get away with it, we must trust the Supreme Judge of the Earth to do what is right. Stay focused, don’t get dragged into slap fights with petty people, and keep moving forward with your mission.

For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 ESV