Yesterday, I wrote about love being genuine. This is part of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, and in that chapter (12), there is a long laundry list of expectations of appropriate behavior for followers of Jesus. After telling the reader to not take vengeance – that’s God’s job – he ends with, “No, if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads. Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” These actions, along with turning the other cheek, are not acts of weakness; they are acts of strength. By not behaving like our enemies, we force them to see a different way. The problem is that revenge feels a lot better than getting slapped in the face. Jesus and Paul both knew this, I think.
I think this is why so many followers of Jesus have ignored these commands. In so much of our lives, strength, violence, and intimidation seem to work better than reason, kindness, and patience; at least, in the short term. This is what makes bullying so effective: call people names – threaten their well-being – force your agenda on them – and they will back down. That rush of power is addictive. That sense of being in control, seductive. We meet force with greater force – power with shock and awe – strength with destruction – and we win. It is said that when confronted by a group of bullies, you should take the biggest one out, and the others will demur. Overcome evil with more of the same, and we win.
Which is exactly why Jesus and Paul taught the opposite tactic. Jesus understood that He could never beat Rome with power, at least, not without getting a lot of people killed. Jesus was trying to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, which is not the same as the kingdoms of the world. Evil is destructive, and facing it with more evil brings about negative numbers, not positive gains. When He was accused of being in league with the Devil, Jesus used this argument – How can Satan cast out Satan? Evil can never be defeated by more evil – you just replace one for the other. Which may be why it seems that we are going backwards. Only love can cast out fear. Only good can overcome evil. To do otherwise is to perpetuate the cycle of pain and suffering, and nobody wins when that happens.
Prayer – Merciful God, we know that there are times when we need to defend ourselves, and we all struggle with how to do this. Give us the courage to confront evil with goodness. Amen.
Today’s art is “Good vs Evil” by Bryan Burnham.