Evil, Satan and God?
When we consider those three things, who and what do think is winning?" Only the crazy people believe in God and an actual enemy called Satan!" That's a belief I have found among young and old who still don't believe in God OR Satan. As a young Christian, I believed that what the Bible taught only applied to what happened a long time ago. Today, as an Elder and member of a non-denomination church, I talk to "a lot" of people in and out of my community. Some believe in God, others do not. One thing is always agreed upon--Evil is present everywhere!
When it comes down to a conversation about evil in the world today, no matter your religious affiliation, all of us can truthfully say," EVIL IS ABOUNDING ALL AROUND US". All of a sudden what we read in newspapers or see on TV, makes a good case for the Biblical description of Good and Evil. When you think about it, what we read on the pages of the Bible about a battle between Good and Evil, starts to feel like last night's new. Am I alone in that thinking?
Today, whether on the streets, in homes, and in the church, people are not only talking about the evil work of the enemy, but are experiencing it each and every day. There are some Christian leaders who never talk about Satan and others who talk incessantly about him. In the case of the latter, every time one stumps a toe or toast burns, Satan is the cause. In a similar way, the greatest mistake I believe we can make with evil is TO OVERESTIMATE OR UNDERESTIMATE ITS INFLUENCE.
Evil doesn’t have ultimate power, but it also isn’t powerless. EVIL IS ACTIVE! In some way, it’s probably influencing your thought life, ministry, and family right now. Scripture describes, that since Jesus came into the world, EVIL is just as real as it was in Biblical times! The fact that evil exists is undeniable! The question is, what are the churches saying about evil? It's a fact that "evil" exists as much inside the church as well as outside of it.
With that said, what is the church offering to aid in wiping out evil? Our children are facing gun wars, not just on the streets, but in the schools...and unfortunately in the home. In the wake of so many tragic shootings every day, it’s hard to deny that violence is all around us. We are living in a world so agitated that tensions are high and people, young and old, are participating in unhealthy ways of releasing stress. Not only by physical attacks but by acts that range from SUBTLE TO OVERT.
The different news media report that Americans experience some form of INCIVILITY about 10 times a week. These incidents are often in the work-place, in our schools, on our streets, as well as in our homes and churches. The hard fact is, The average citizen is not equipped to deal with it. Temples are raging today, more than ever. So, where can we find the answers to a rapidly rising issue of incivility that affects ALL of us.
"There is so much good in the worse of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it ill-behooves any of us, to talk about the rest of us."
I love that quote and used it may time in TALKS as a school's Behavior Modification Counselor, while teaching Sunday School classes and also while serving in the position of Promotion Manager at a radio station. "Talk" is not the big issues in these days and times. The important question IS, and has always been, WHAT are WE DOING?
