Good Vs. Evil
“Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
Insight
We are all predisposed to respond to evil with evil. Over time, some of us may train our minds and hearts to respond with something else, but most often, our knee-jerk reaction is to throw more evil around.
Evil and anger bring out the worst in everyone. When you are cut off in traffic, you probably do not immediately think to pray for that person. Or, if you do, you may pray for a police officer to catch them speeding or for their tire to blow out. Crazy enough, this is just a minor evil we face. The closer to our heart evil strikes, the greater evil we want to respond with.
Look at the world today. Don’t just look at culture but also look at those who claim to walk with Jesus. Somewhere along the way, we as Christ followers fell into a fight fire with fire mindset, or more appropriate for our verse today, fighting evil with evil. Evil deeds, thoughts, and words can grab a hold of us and overcome us. Without protecting our hearts from evil, we blend into the world around us.
The reality is that not being evil is not a good enough standard for us. We have to be actively investing good into the world around us. Think about Jesus when He walked on earth. He did not just look at the evil around Him and ignore it, nor did He contribute to it. Jesus dedicated His life to overcoming the evil He saw with good.
Evil took on many shapes in the world Jesus walked into: racism, sexism, robbery, idolatry, and the abuse of power from multiple groups of people. But Jesus was never about living a bystander life. He actively faced those evils in order to bring good and to push against the evil. He brought a new standard of value to the sanctity of life.
Jesus lived this way because He knew that the price for saving humanity was high; in fact, it was too high of a price for anyone else in history to pay. Jesus gave value to those suffering because He loved them. We never want evil to befall those we love, and neither did Jesus.
The greatest opportunity Christ followers have to show the world Jesus is to love those who have done evil. When it comes down to it, all of us are guilty. And we were more than willing to receive Jesus’ grace and forgiveness when we came to Him. So, why do we feel as though more evil is going to solve the problem when the only way we learned the true depth of evil was from love and grace?
I have never met a follower of Jesus who told me, “It was the moment someone behind a pulpit yelled at me and told me I was going to hell that changed my life.” Even if that made you consider Jesus, it would not be a strong enough foundation for you to continue to walk with Him.
Jesus did not die for you just to keep you out of hell; Jesus died for you so you could see that you are loved and desired. Once we get a glimpse of God’s goodness, we never go away the same. Evil is slowly unrooted from us as we realize the beauty and depth of goodness in the person of God.
So, as we navigate this world and the evil that we face, may we not give into the ways of the world. Evil is powerless against the goodness of God, and it is the goodness of God that we can tap into to overcome. We have to remember that people are NOT evil, but sometimes they do evil. In the midst of those deeds, we can stand in God’s goodness, His security, His love, and His story writing.
God has taken some of the most evil moments in history and has written stories of redemption and hope. He has always written those stories, and He always will. At the end of the day, evil never wins, our God’s goodness surely will.
Reflection
How do you push against the evil you see in your life, and in the world?
How can God’s goodness be our weapon to push back the evil in the world?
Prayer
Father, thank you for being the embodiment of goodness. I do not have to look far to see that not only are You good, but You are constantly making good happen despite the circumstances. You have given me the opportunity to overcome evil with Your love. I pray I tap into that power as evil seems to be spreading in this world. Thank You for being good, and for allowing me to see Your goodness. I love You Father, and pray in Your name, Amen.
Port City writer Davy Nance wrote today’s devotional.
