Glance at
any newspaper and the headlines tell you what’s wrong with the world. Watch
television, listen to the radio, talk to friends, and you will find no shortage
of opinions as to what is wrong on planet Earth. That’s because pointing out
what’s wrong is easy.
When
terrorists hijacked passenger planes and slammed them into the Pentagon, two
New York skyscrapers, and a Pennsylvania field, the world quickly called it
evil. The destructive power of this epic evil event made people feel paralyzed
and helpless. And that’s what evil does best; it makes us feel powerless.
But we’re
not. Most of us experience evil on a smaller, more personal scale. And for us,
the apostle Paul outlined the proper response. He said we are to abhor evil (Rom. 12:9),
not to repay it with more evil (v.17), and not to be overcome by it (v.21).
The true
victim of evil is goodness—the goodness that God designed as part of creation
for everyone to enjoy (Gen. 1:4-31). It is surprising then when Paul concludes that
the casualty of evil is also its conqueror (Rom. 12:21).
Evil gets
all the headlines, but God’s goodness is stronger, and He wants us to use it on
His behalf to overcome His enemy.
As light
overcomes darkness, goodness can overcome evil. (RBC)
