Hate Evil, Do Good

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 Your love must be real. Hate what is evil. Do only what is good. Love each other in a way that makes you feel close like brothers and sisters. And give each other more honor than you give yourself. (Romans 12:9-10)

Sometimes it is way too easy to put on our 'public happy face' in the presence of what we know are unkind or evil actions, going about life as though all things within our life were wonderful all of the time, all the while struggling on the inside to just keep it together. The 'public happy face' fools no one, especially God. The more ingenuine we are with each other, the longer it will take for us to realize the healing we need so desperately require as a society. Real love for one another doesn't require the 'public happy face' to be worn. In fact, real love displayed means we are 'real' with each other - even when life is a bit messy, or our 'perfection' isn't quite measuring up that day, and evil seems to be gaining ground around us. 

Two very important instructions are given to us in this passage: 1) Hate what is evil; and 2) Do only what is good. Those are pretty tall orders, but when we begin to shun the evil things that bring discord and angst into our lives, we begin to move toward what brings depth, purpose, and purity. We might not realize the power of evil around us, but we can trust God to help us overcome its pull within our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit residing within us. Loving one another in the manner God desires requires us being genuine, even when all we see around us seems a bit 'messy' and less than 'perfect'. 

The prophet Amos what the first to record this instruction: "Seek good, not evil, that you may live." (Amos 5:15) We will sow discord and live ingenuine lives when we allow justice to be perverted and evil to abound. Evil actually requires the mask because the mask is how it entices us into 'relationship' with it. Hate evil - move away from it with all haste. Nothing good comes when evil is allowed to abound. Genuine people, living life as a community of believers can stand against evil of all kinds. Sometimes it feels like we are going against the mainstream of behavior in our world, but that is why it is so important to have genuine relationships where we can find strength and renewal, allowing God to do the work of transforming us into a mighty army of warriors for good and not evil. Just sayin!

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