“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
The above quote, which is not by Edmund Burke by the way, is one of those that sits with you for a long time. Something inside tells you it is Biblical even if you cannot find it in your Bible. Finally, as I prepared for a women’s class last week, I found the concept, if not the actual quote. It is indeed Biblical.
They wrong the barren, childless woman, and do no good to the widow Job 24:21
And now you are shaking your head trying to figure it out, right? Perhaps I should have told you the context, not of the verse, but of finding it.
I have a lesson on the Widows in the Bible. We begin with a discussion of the three different Hebrew words used in the Old Testament for widows, and all the baggage they carry that our English word for widow does not. You and I say “widow” and all we mean is the woman whose husband has died. The most common Hebrew word meant not just the fact that he had died, but that she was now poor and helpless. First, there were no insurance policies, no widows’ pensions, no social security, no IRAs—nothing, and women did not hold paying jobs. Next, all of the words used for widow come from a Hebrew root that means “mute.” In that culture a woman alone had no one to speak for her—she had no voice. These women were regularly taken advantage of by men who knew they were easy prey. We spent time reading aloud verses in the Bible that show how God views those kinds of people. We read for about 15 solid minutes, and that was less than half of the verses available. The effect was impressive. It also became apparent that “orphans and widows” had become a metaphor for anyone helpless and destitute.
Now back to that verse in Job. In chapter 24 Job is lamenting that it seems that the evil are seldom punished in this life. In his long list of evil people—beginning in chapter 23—he finally lists those who wrong the barren women and “do no good to the widow.” A man who does nothing to help the widow—or the poor and helpless—is just as bad as the man who abuses them. Doing nothing wrong does not equal doing good. Can I say that again? Doing nothing wrong does not equal doing good.
We were not taught that from the pulpits of my childhood. It was all about how to worship in the building on Sunday morning and all the things we did NOT do wrong. I thank God all the time for giving me parents who taught me that pew-sitters were not Christians. Christians were those who served others all week long. It is all over the pages of the New Testament but people still miss it. If you have been, please change things now. You do not want to be lumped in with the rest of those people Job describes in those chapters. You would be appalled to see the company you are keeping!
The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.Titus3:8
Dene Ward
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