There is a famous line from Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, in which Marc Anthony speaks at the recently murdered Caesar’s funeral. He begins his eulogy with the words:
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones;
In his speech, Anthony cleverly turns what he says about the evil that Caesar had done, to a condemnation of the evil that the murderers had done in killing Caesar. No one is free of guilt; all are evil in one way or another.
Though probably not on purpose, Shakespeare’s lines echo what Scripture claims: “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. . .” (Romans 3:23). Sure, we all sin, but what about real evil? Does it really exist, or is it just the clever wording of a long-dead poet whose works were not “interred with his bones”?
Let me see. . . is there evil in the world today? How about Russian troops attacking Ukraine, bombing its cities and killing its civilians? Or, what about our country killing babies before they’re born, in the name of “reproductive rights”?* Or the U.S. droning an innocent man and his son during the pull-out from Afghanistan? Or elected leaders who lie and enrich themselves at the expense of those who elected them to office? Or drive-by shootings that kill bystanders along with their targets? Or mobs that loot stores with impunity? Or insurance companies that find loopholes to not pay claims? Or businesses that gouge their customers with inflated prices? Or people who abuse children, spouses, or the elderly? Or gangs who sell drugs that kill or leave users homeless? Or. . . or. . .or. . .
I could go on, and so could you. There is much evil in the world today, as there has been since the first humans took that bite from the forbidden fruit so long ago. We are reminded of the words of Genesis 6:5,”The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Evil is real, and its effects do live on after the evil has done its worst. People are harmed, societies crumble, and even nature is diminished by what people do. God warned Adam not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; before Adam and Eve ate of its fruit they knew good, but ever since they ate, they and we have known evil as well (Genesis 2:16-17).
The Bible does not shy away from the reality of evil. It speaks of it some 539 times, including in the prayer our Lord Jesus taught us to pray, “. . . and deliver us from evil.”
What is the evil of which the Lord spoke? I can think of three ways our prayer for deliverance applies:
1. It is a prayer for protection from the bad things other people do to us, whether intentional or not, and from the dangers of the natural world. It could be a robbery, an assault, a car accident, infidelity, a flood, tornado, or earthquake; in other words, anything that would harm us. Just because we didn’t cause what hurts us doesn’t mean we won’t be harmed. We look to God to deliver us from all such evil events.
2. The word “evil” in the Lord’s Prayer can also be translated, “evil one,” meaning we are praying for God to protect us from Satan. Evil is not just a term we use to refer to unhappy events; it also applies to a spiritual being, to the one who first tempted Eve and Adam to sin and who desires our destruction. Satan has been active in the world since the beginning, destroying people’s lives through his lies. In fact, Jesus called him “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Peter says of him in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Fortunately, Satan and his demons are not omnipotent gods; they can only do what God allows them to do, so we pray for God to protect us from them. (See Job 1:6-12, where Satan needed Gods permission to afflict Job.) Satan tempts us to do evil, beginning with separating us from God’s Word (Luther).
3. Unfortunately, there is another source of evil, and that is us. As fallen, sinful creatures, we don’t need the devil to harm us or lead us astray. We can do that quite well all by ourselves. We are especially adept at rationalizing our evil actions – “I deserve this,” or “They have insurance,” or “They had it coming!” or “It’s just a white lie,” or “No one will know.” Jeremiah 17:9 proclaims, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Or as Walt Kelly put it in his 1970 cartoon, Pogo, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” That’s why the Lord’s Prayer also contains the petition, “And lead us not into temptation”; we are asking God to keep us from doing evil ourselves by giving in to our wrongful desires.
This three-fold problem has been called, “The world, the flesh, and the devil,” first described by Thomas Aquinas in the 1500s as “implacable enemies of the soul,” though also seen in the temptations which the devil threw at Jesus in the wilderness: 1. gaining the kingdoms of the world by tempting God (the world); 2. satisfying his hunger by turning stones to bread (the flesh); and 3. worshiping Satan (the devil). See Luke 4:1-13. Jesus refused to give in to any of those temptations, preserving his sinless nature and thus his ability to take our sins upon himself at the cross.
Jesus remained sinless, but we are inherently sinful, so what do we do about sin and the evil it causes?
1. As Jesus told us, we pray for deliverance from evil, and from the temptations to think and commit evil ourselves. We need God’s help!
2. We resist Satan. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
3. Read the Scriptures, so you know what God considers right and wrong. This makes it harder to rationalize our actions as “not so bad.” or “I’m only human” when we see that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
4. Remember the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” When you feel tempted to do wrong, look for the way of escape God provides you.
5. Psalm 34:14 says, “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Don’t put yourself in situations where you know you will be tempted; seek what is good and wholesome. Guard your thoughts: as Philippians 4:8 tells us, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” In other words, get your mind out of the gutter!
But what if we do these things, and evil still comes our way? Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Our Lord said, “But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39) and also “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44), a lesson repeated by Paul: “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all” (Romans 12:17). This is not to say we must let evil have free rein in the world, it does have to be opposed and stopped; the point is that we are not to stoop to the level of the evildoers, but to recognize them as people who are also loved by God.
Ultimately, our deliverance from evil has been provided for us by Jesus Christ, who died on the cross so that the evil we have done will not “live after us” into eternity. We not only have the strength of the Holy Spirit now in this life to resist sin, but also have full forgiveness of all our sins and the evil they cause, for all eternity. That is our hope, and we look forward to the day when evil is banished and only good remains.
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.
Read: Job 1; John 8:34-47; Romans 12:9-21.
* 41.9 million since the Roe v Wade decision in 1973.
Awesome commentary and advice for these trying times. We must overcome the evil we face without succumbing or adding to it.
I remember when those bracelets were common, “What Would Jesus Do?”. They were used to help the wearer to ponder biblical truths when interacting with others. I can reflect on some of my words and actions that were sinful and evil because I responded with my “gut”, my natural man responses which hurt others. How important to pray, read the Word and walk with Jesus! Help me God to fight evil and walk in your loving ways. Thank you Rich for this blog.