Tag Archives: evil

Why Evil?

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Last Sunday, the pastor posed a question in Sunday School: Why is there evil and has it always existed?

I guess to truly understand all the details of the answer to that question, you would have to have the mind of God. Our understanding is limited to what he inspired men to write in Scripture.

Like I Corinthians 15:56. Paul tells us the law gives sin its power. We wouldn’t know what sin was if God hadn’t spelled it out in the law.

We wouldn’t know what light was if it wasn’t for the darkness.

And we wouldn’t know what good was except for evil.

If there was no law, sin would have no power because sin, by definition, is the breaking of the law. But if there was no law, no sin, we wouldn’t know forgiveness, would we? There would be no choice. We would be puppets, robots.

It was important to God that his creation choose him.

Why?

I don’t know, except to say the love someone chooses to demonstrate toward me is precious, personal, more meaningful than if that someone feels obligated or forced. Being made in God’s image, I can only imagine he feels the same.

Dearest Heavenly Father, you are good. You are holy. And I thank you that you have made it possible to choose you. It’s hard to thank you for sin. It’s hard to thank you for sickness, wars, evil. But if it weren’t for those things, I wouldn’t understand what it is that you offer through your Son, Jesus. I wouldn’t appreciate grace. So, Father, I want you to know that I choose you today. I love you because I can. I resist temptation because I can. I deny Satan because I can. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Thank you!

April 21

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I Samuel 25: 1-44, Psalm 18

I know that when we read accounts like this of David and Nabal we see God destroying men because they were evil. We read Psalms like 18 and hear David praising God for destroying men who were his enemies. And we may be tempted to think that’s how God operates yet today.

I knew a woman who always said… what goes around comes around. She believed with all her heart that anyone who mistreated her would get a pay-back sometime in his or her life. (never heard her say what would happen to her when she gossiped or bullied someone else. But I digress)

Some people believe in karma. I don’t.

I know I often say that God today is the same God of the Old Testament. He absolutely is. He is holy and demands holiness of us. His rules for living have not changed.

But I have also said repeatedly how glad I am that, after the cross, we are not called to kill people like the Old Testament people were. Our enemy is not flesh and blood in God’s spiritual kingdom which he ushered in when Jesus rose from the dead. That’s why a pastor once told me to read the Psalms picturing the enemy written about as Satan. Makes those Psalms relevant in my life.

Here is what God says about people who we might consider enemies. Love them. Pray for those who spitefully use you.

Look at Jesus’ example of how to treat people who wrong you.

If something bad happens to someone who has treated you unfairly, don’t rejoice. Pray for them. What happens to them is not about you. It’s about God trying to win them to himself. God, who is not willing that any should perish, loves that person whether we do or not. He died for him or her the same way he died for us.

Someone said the best way to get rid of an enemy is to make him your friend. I’d go one step further. Introduce him to your Savior!

I don’t know who has mistreated you. If you are in an abusive situation I certainly don’t recommend you stay there. If there are bosses you need to tell or parents who need to know or police who need to deal with it I pray you will have the courage to stand up for yourself and tell someone.

But my prayer is that we all will be faithful to God’s Word and pray for those who mistreat us. That’s what God says to do so it must work.