“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. . .  When the wicked rise, people hide themselves but when they perish, the righteous increase.”  — Proverbs 28:1, 28

by Paul Burkhart

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Looking at the verse above, we see an interesting thing: wickedness and unity are negatively correlated. When the wicked rise, people “hide themselves.” In other words, wickedness and humanism go hand in hand. As righteousness decreases within a society, people begin to think less collectively and more in terms of self-preservation, self-exaltation, and self-esteem. Why is this? I think there is a principle within humans I’m calling “moral entropy.” The law of entropy is that “all things will move from a state of order to disorder, unless a greater force is acted upon it.” This is the state of all created things, and I would argue it is also the state of the moral state of human beings. Unless a force greater than the wickedness of humans is exerted upon them, people will move ever increasingly to further moral disarray. So what happens when this “greater force” is exerted on humans to such a point that their wickedness begins to perish? Not only does righteousness itself increase, but a righteous people characterized by unity is formed (see. the end of verse 28).

How does wickedness decrease? Look at Proverbs 28:1. Pursuit is not what does it. It’s not through arguments, policy, prayer in schools, or getting Christians into influential places. No. The wicked flee when no one pursues, but only when that (plural) righteous collective is as “bold” as a (singular) lion. Unity is stronger than action. The display of a people secure in the “greater force” of God’s grace that was exerted upon them is what causes wickedness to decrease.

“Okay, that’s great,” you might say, “but how do the righteous become unified like this?” This is where we need to look on the other side of the cross from Proverbs. Ephesians 2:13-18 helps us with this. It tells us that this unity has already been accomplished (purchased) for us. We were alienated, but now we’ve been brought near by that greater force. Jesus now is our peace. It is not a unity amongst ourselves as much as a unity within Christ. It is not a forced “reconciliation” of diverse peoples; it’s not a disingenuous exposure to other cultures, races, and experiences. Rather it is resting in the peace and unity that has already been achieved for us by another. When those that have been converted by our Sovereign Lord begin to believe that every “wall of hostility” has been torn down in Christ, it will affect how we view the other “righteous” ones around us. We are already reconciled to one another. It comes with the package.

There is indeed a level of this that can be achieved in this lifetime. I see my church affecting change within and without its four walls through living this out. I’m a Southern white guy and the church is about half black. I can’t explain why I don’t feel like there is any difference between any of us. I’ve never experienced something like it before. It’s incredible. When grace changes an individual they get grafted into a story already begun; into a people already formed and chosen. God creates a collective and stirs their hearts to be as “bold as a lion,” and wickedness decreases. Social injustice lessens, culture shifts, and lives are changed. Cultural change is not achieved by “pursuit” of making comfortable human suffering and injustice. That’s not how we change people. It’s how we act as changed people. This in turns begins to steer the ship another way and brokenness is healed. How do I know this? Looking up the word for “bold”, I found something interesting. Most of the other verses that use this word all have to do with he idea of worship (Psalm 28:7; Psalm 33:21; Psalm 82:8).

Apparently, the thing that will characterize a people unified in a righteousness such that wickedness in the world decreases is a lifestyle of worship. We also see this in Ephesians 2:19-22 and Romans 12:2, where unification is explicitly linked to worship (“present your bodies [plural] as a living sacrifice [singular]“). And I don’t mean Sunday morning song-singing. It is a lifestyle of comprehensive worship engaging all parts of who you are, even the mind. This means that the worship that we will be bringing others in need is one that is doctrinally and theologically informed. It is a message with actual content. We don’t just throw money at people and things hoping for the best. No, we act as the conduits of that “greater force” of Christ with a message that can actually change people. And when this moral entropy is turned upside down, we no longer dwell in the land of self-preservation but walk in a freedom to serve and even die for another, should it be necessary.

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