Painless Harm

“Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine. He picked some of its fruit, enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful.” (2 Kings 4:39 NET)

During the recent solar eclipse, there were many media reports warning people not to look at the eclipse directly. Even a few minutes of looking at the sun directly can cause eye damage. However, since there are no pain receptors on the retina, there is no pain to alert you to the harm.  

Pain can be a useful warning system. When we touch a burning stove, we pull our hands back immediately. If we get sick while eating a certain kind of dish at a restaurant, we learn to avoid it.  When we encounter someone who has caused injury in the past, we remember the agony and stay away from him.  But there are many instances when there is no immediate pain. This lulls us into a false sense of security.  We remain complacent, unaware of the harm.

Lord, thank you for the lessons of pain. Teach us to heed Your warning system. Grant us the wisdom to stay away from things that cause permanent damage.

My Delight

“Take delight in the Lord,  and he will give you your heart’s desires.” (Psalm 37:4 NLT)

I have a neighbor who enjoys daily bubble baths. She carves out time, every evening, to luxuriate in a tub of warm water and scented bubbles.  Personally, I do not find bubble baths to be worth the effort. However, I have found other ways to indulge myself. Every morning, I get a cup of coffee, find a quiet space, and immerse myself in the Lord. I savor His Spirit; I luxuriate in His presence; I enjoy His company.  

On many days, this feels like an indulgence. There are so many things to get done, so many other desires vying for attention. Yet, my heart craves this intimacy and remains restless when I pursue other pleasures. Nothing else brings contentment. Thus, I return to the One who restores me. I delight in the Lord. He is my source of refreshment and rejuvenation.  I remain with Him until my thoughts and desires conform to His will. His peace washes over me. All is well when I am fully absorbed in the Lord.

Spiritual Immunity

“They are loudmouths, full of hot air, but still they're dangerous. Men and women who have recently escaped from a deviant life are most susceptible to their brand of seduction.” (2 Peter 2:18 MSG)

Very few humans have the spiritual immunity to stand up to the powers of evil. The rest of us walk through life lackadaisically--unaware of the symptoms and virulence of wickedness. This makes us susceptible.  

The worldly are addicted to approval and pleasure. Like those who live in a crack house, we become habituated to degenerate behavior. We’ve seen and been around this stuff so long that we are not bothered by depravity.  Even if we move out and get cleaned up, the old lifestyle still holds a certain amount of appeal. It wouldn’t take much for us to be seduced back into the darkness.

“Better not to have started out on the straight road to God than to start out and then turn back, repudiating the experience and the holy command. They prove the point of the proverbs, ‘A dog goes back to its own vomit.’" (2 Peter 2:21-22 MSG)

The Contagion of Evil

“Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” (2 Peter 2:2 NIV)

Disease can be contagious; health is not. You are more likely to pick up infections from being around sick people than you are to pick up good habits from hanging around healthy individuals. Why? None of us would choose to be sick, but once we are exposed to a contagious illness, it is often outside of our control whether we get infected or not. On the contrary, we would like to emulate those who are physically fit. We have a choice in this matter. However, many of us are reluctant to make the necessary changes in behavior.

Evil is contagious; goodness is not. Depravity can contaminate wholeness a lot quicker than decency can influence wickedness. Why? None of us would choose degeneration; it is just what happens when we consort with evil. Like kids grasping the edges of a slippery slide, we try not to spiral down any further into degradation, but it’s hard to reverse our choices once we get this far.

Conversely, we admire those who are honorable and conscientious; yet, we find it difficult to emulate them. Ascending the heights of virtue takes effort and commitment. Yet, we cannot get very far on our own. We have to rely on God to protect and guide us through.  

Tolerating Evil

 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9 NASB)

Nobody is perfect. We have all done something or other that we are ashamed of in our pasts. We have had wicked  thoughts, said inappropriate things, and committed sins. Thus, it feels inappropriate to repudiate evil. Who are we to judge? Should we not forgive others? Isn’t tolerance a virtue?

According to the above verse, we are to abhor evil. To abhor something means to regard it with contempt or disgust. It is natural to recoil when you see a poisonous snake. It would be unwise to let it crawl on your lap. Smooth-tongued, double-dealing deceivers are no exception.

Tolerance of evil in the name of love is hypocritical. We become proponents of the lie, participants in the pretense. We cannot cling to both good and evil. Either we are shackled by our fondness for falsehood and depravity, or we are attracted to truth and sincerity. We must choose.

Recognizing Evil

“But Jesus perceived their wickedness...” (Matthew 22:18 KJV)

How can we tell if something is truly evil? Malevolence is covert and shrewd which makes it hard to identify. However, there is often a pattern to the devilry. To those who are aware, the signs are unmistakable.

It’s like identifying the stench of a skunk; once you’ve been around it, you know when you smell it again. At first there may be just a whiff of puffery; perhaps a hint of pretension, depravity, and deception. However, if you get close enough--a miasma of wickedness permeates everything.

Like a snail who leaves slime in its path, an evil person consistently leaves destruction in his wake. All those who are close become victims of his vices. However, he will never admit fault, always blaming circumstances or others for the devastation. This self-deception is yet another subtle warning signal of wickedness.

Evil Among Us

"The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.” (Jeremiah 17:9 MSG)

The recent wave of violence and protests by White Supremacists has evoked a sense of horror and confusion to many of us in America. How could a nation that fought Naziism and Fascism overseas now be propagating these evils? The stigma of bigotry and racism has diminished. Evil has always been with us, slinking in the dark, ashamed to express itself in decent company. Yet now it feels emboldened, because it is sanctioned by those in power.

One of the few benefits of unconcealed evil is that it brings everything into the light. It forces us to face what we would rather not face--that evil is real, it’s all around us, and it influences our thoughts and actions. These are uncomfortable and scary truths that we badly want to ignore. It’s like finding a cancerous lesion on our body and shrugging it off as something that has always been there.  Yet, deep down, our conscience tells us that something is off. Careful self-examination, even though distressing, is necessary. It is wise to remove the malignancy before it takes over our lives.