Be
not overcome of evil,
but
overcome evil with good.
Romans
12: 21
When
in grade school and somewhat during my junior high days, owning a
stack of comic books was a hobby many friends and I shared. We
traded comic books almost on a weekly basis. Comic books usually
sold for 5 cents where I lived but the thicker Classic comic books
sold for a dime. I could trade a comic book that was in good shape
evenly for one in the same condition from a friend. If the cover had
come off of any comic books, you only got one comic book in good
shape for two that were torn up. One of my friends loved all of the
romance comic books so my mom wouldn't let me trade with her.
I
loved the cowboy comic books as well as some of the super hero ones.
May I tell you that in everyone of those comic books I read as a
young girl, all carried the same theme....right always triumphed over
wrong. You always knew who the good guys were and not just because
they wore a white hat. For pity sake, even Mighty Mouse knew the
importance of doing what was right, of telling the truth and of being
a good citizen. Even in comic books, children were taught good
manners, strong ethics and genuine concern for others.
Pick
up a comic book today and you will find that the covers are enough to
strike panic in anyone. Characters are grotesque in appearance, have
little in the way of good character traits and turn young people to
the dark side.
We live in a day where evil seems to run free. Unfortunately, we often find evil in places that surprise us. As a former social worker with foster children, I never got used to their stories of hurt and abuse. Of all places, these things happened to these children, it happened a lot in their own homes, where a child should feel loved and safe. Their abuse occurred during family reunions, when visiting a relatives home or worse yet on the part of a parent. Their stories would stand your hair on end. Where once the home was the epitome of love and safety, that very often isn't the case anymore.
In our day we see evil reigning supreme in our government. Many leaders are liars and they don't even attempt to cover up their lying. Many look straight into a TV monitor and on nationwide news will look into a camera and lie through their teeth. I'm not talking about any particular branch of government as it's a problem in all areas. Are there some good guys in government...of course there are. There are Christians in Congress who meet weekly in engaging Bible study sessions. We live in a day though where right is compromised and explained away. The guys in the black hats seem to have everything going for them even though they often sound like senseless idiots. They are lifted up as being brilliant, honest people to be respected.
Evil often runs rampant in a church. I've seen all the bumper stickers that reflect on hypocrites in churches. It's true...churches are full of hypocrites. No church is perfect. If I were to find a perfect church and join it, I would mess it up. We all bring our baggage into the church we attend. That's where we can be rid of our old baggage and start out fresh. However, there are folks in churches who don't recognize their own manipulating ways. Those folks tend to be those who are in church purely for the social experience. They will step on any Christian to get to the next rung on the ladder of leadership or popularity. They have to have their way and will do any unscrupulous thing to get to the top. They will gossip, push and shove people into getting their own way and will even lie and cheat to get where they want to be. Don't ask them to attend Sunday school or any evening services. Give them room to do their thing and they are happy. You will rarely see them with a Bible in hand. It's frustrating for those trying to do right, trying to live as would please the Lord. So it appears at times that evil is the winner.
SOOOOO....
You
and I have these times. As Christians, we love Jesus, the very
personification of goodness and perfection. I am jealous for Him Who
gave so much. Jesus holds the upper hand whether it looks like it in
our day or not. Whatever the evil we see, wherever it is, what can
you and I do about it...what is to be our response?
First of all, we are not called to lay down and play dead. I've heard Christians suggest that to speak up against the evil around us is not our job. I will add to that statement that one of the reasons our country is in the shape it is in is because of the silence of Christians who refuse to take a stand against the evil of our day. For some Christians, that would be a hard thing to do anyway because so much of Christianity in our country has been assimilated into the culture of the present. You and I must have a deep sense of what is righteous so that we recognize evil by contrast the minute we are in the presence of it. As citizens, we are to vote. A non-voter has no right to complain about anything the government does or doesn't do. We are also called to pray for our leaders. We are to stand for right as God presents those opportunities to us. That stand may be just one on one with another person. A stand we take will rarely take place on the capitol steps.
Secondly, be strong spiritually. I know I seem to belabor these things but we are not going to be strong in the Lord if we are never in His Word or in prayer. We are further strengthened as we meet to worship with other Christians and actively serve the Lord as He leads. Be alert spiritually to the wiles of the devil. We cannot have the attitude that we are untouchable by Satan. Just as we speak in a prideful way of sins we would never commit, we set ourselves up as a target. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” I Peter 5:8
Next, you and I ought to walk in righteousness. We should be careful about casting stones at other people we might disagree with. If someone we respect lies about something, what right do we have to criticize her if we have spent the day lying whether it is about how we're feeling or if we like what she is wearing. Righteousness should begin at home, with us as individuals. We never want to be justifiably tagged as one of those hypocrites. When speaking of righteousness, we are talking about simply doing what is right.
Last but certainly not least, we have to have control of our own thinking. When presented with evil people or circumstances, we must get control of our own thought life. We choose what we think about and this is an area where Satan wants to get victory over us as well.
Satan
knows our negative thinking can pull us down to the point that we
lose hope. Psalm 39:7 says: “Lord, where do I put my hope? My
only hope is in you.” You see, we quickly find out in the down
times where we've placed our hope. So often we hope in the things
and relationships of the world whether we're aware of it or not.
Each day I can visit God's Word and have my hope renewed and
reinforced. His Word never fails or wavers. This helps me
refocus...taking my eyes and thoughts off of the undeserving and
looking to the Love of my life. After all, we know the end of the
story. We know who wins in the end and that's where we pin our hope.
Let's keep looking up...not around and about.
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