Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph. (Haile Selassie)
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. (Romans 12:21)
I cannot say for sure, but there are times when I believe we ALL let evil get the upper hand in our lives, wishing for the best outcome possible, but then allowing our thoughts to turn where they shouldn't, our eyes taking in what they probably didn't want to really see. The moment we give any inroad to evil in our lives, the influence of that moment can create a 'highway' for evil influence to continue to travel until we allow God to shut it down once and for all. We may not see the harm in not shutting it down with immediacy ourselves, but God knows the harm that will come when even the slightest path is allowed to remain.
To put this plainly, 'evil' in scripture is defined as absolutely ANYTHING that opposes God's will or his nature. Some may think it ends at some extremely evident moral wrongdoing, but if our thoughts or actions go toward what is in direct opposition to God's will for our lives, we need to take immediate action to shut those down. They are 'evil' and will create a 'concourse' for evil intent and action to follow. We conquer evil by doing good - we do good by leaning into God and trusting him to reveal his will, show us his truth, and guide us in taking 'right steps'.
I cannot say for sure, but there are times when I believe we ALL let evil get the upper hand in our lives, wishing for the best outcome possible, but then allowing our thoughts to turn where they shouldn't, our eyes taking in what they probably didn't want to really see. The moment we give any inroad to evil in our lives, the influence of that moment can create a 'highway' for evil influence to continue to travel until we allow God to shut it down once and for all. We may not see the harm in not shutting it down with immediacy ourselves, but God knows the harm that will come when even the slightest path is allowed to remain.
To put this plainly, 'evil' in scripture is defined as absolutely ANYTHING that opposes God's will or his nature. Some may think it ends at some extremely evident moral wrongdoing, but if our thoughts or actions go toward what is in direct opposition to God's will for our lives, we need to take immediate action to shut those down. They are 'evil' and will create a 'concourse' for evil intent and action to follow. We conquer evil by doing good - we do good by leaning into God and trusting him to reveal his will, show us his truth, and guide us in taking 'right steps'.
Inaction sets the framework for what we may not realize is lurking to find any inroad. Mindless thought, passivity when we should be vigilant, creates an open door for things we may not realize will bring harm into our lives. We must remain vigilant (attentive) to the things God reveals, take ALL the steps he defines as 'necessary' for our lives, and then lean into his protection as we do. There is no better defense against an enemy we may not even know is lurking. Just sayin!
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