Evil

Besides God, there is no greater point of emphasis in the doctrines of every religion I am even passingly acquainted with than the doctrines concerning evil: what evil is, who is evil, the source of evil, how to avoid evil, etc. Obviously the nature of evil is of extreme importance to many, many people.

Within the scope of the faith I claim, the Way of Christ, evil is a common topic as well - and the cause of much concern (as is the personage and character of Lucifer, the best known, at least by name and reputation, of evildoers).

Ask any professed follower of Jesus, layman or elder, what evil is and you will likely get a list of deeds or a discourse on the Law (or perhaps the 10 Commandments) and not obeying it or maybe some idea about Satan or not worshipping the right god.

Yet, I wonder, is that what evil really is?

Scripture tells us that man's heart is constantly imagining evil - which sounds like the world is populated by billions of psychopaths waiting for the opportune moment to pillage and plunder.

But, when I look at the people I know and meet, I don't see a crowd of barely restrained Mongols. I see many, many folks doing the best they can to get by, stay out of trouble and find some joy and happiness. The Dahmers and Stalins are far away from the place where I live. Bold and unabashed evil seems unreal - even when it does appear in this little place.

Still, God reminds us, in many ways, many times, that no-one is good or, in reverse, everyone is evil.

This suggests to me that what God knows as evil and what we think we know as evil are not the same.

For example, the idea that evil can be recognized by what evil does.Yet, when I study the stories and histories in the Bible, many acts universally seen as inherently evil, such as killing another person, are committed by people who are acting in obedience to the command of the Lord.

Conversely, Jesus tells us that, in the eyes of God, all our good deeds are as worthless and contaminated garbage - we even see Him sending away some who cast out demons and did many other seemingly good things in Christ's name.

So, it must be that evil is not inherent in the actions of people; evil is said to be the order of things in this world and among its inhabitants even though the natural eyes do not observe it to be so.

Evil would seem to be more than or different from what religious doctrine appears to teach.

If I may be so bold, I think I am finally beginning to understand what evil, the evil God sees, is.

Evil is desire: man's desire for anything other than God and God's will.

Look at the story of the Fall. Satan uses the temptation of becoming god-like to tempt Eve, but Eve does not fall until she desired the fruit and, thereby, the results the serpent suggested would come from eating it. The fact that Adam took some and ate it, without the same sales-pitch from Satan, shows that his desires changed as well.

From that day to this, all of us have desired and fallen and are evil in the sight of God.

So wholly corrupt is our heart that when we are blessed by God with the faith to believe and to desire Him God gives us a new heart, the heart of Christ.