How Shall We Defeat Evil?
On many occasions I have intimated, if not outright said, that the we live in a world where the forces of evil are prevalent and evident everywhere. The evil that exists ranges from the things people do to cause injury to themselves and others, on both small and large scales, all the way to the things they merely say--either verbally or in writing.
Often, and it really is unfortunate when it happens, evil is done in the name of good. Interestingly, evil prefers frequently to step outside the bounds of straightforward acts of malice and to masquerade as something good. It is such insidious evil that is truly the enemy of us all, for we are easily duped into somehow both seeing and believing that bad actions, words, intentions, ideas, etc., can result in what is best for someone else.
Clearly, every action has an effect. Even the smallest of secret acts causes an effect, if only it exists in the depth of our souls and no place else. However, every action, regardless of its secrecy, is like a seed planted--we can be sure that we will reap what we sow.
The analogy that I have always liked best is that of the perfectly calm pond: we drop in a stone and it's sure to send out ripples in every direction. Our goal, rather than to create for ourselves a state of being without effect, is to send out ripples of goodness.
It even seems to be clearly evident that there will always be some kind of ripples on the pond because our lives are filled with actions of some kind each day. Even if--hypothetically--there could be nothing more than a purely calm mental state consisting of nothing other than calmness and quiet, some kind of activity would still exist. To deny that action always occurs is to deny something essential about being human.
The scripture readings from the lectionary for today tell us:
Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
Then truly will the LORD, the God of hosts,
be with you as you claim!
Hate evil and love good,
and let justice prevail at the gate...
The challenge for us is that we learn to discern good from evil. Perhaps one would think that the ability to tell what is good from what is bad comes naturally, but evidence indicates otherwise. Developing a life of prayer and scripture study is essential to discernment; however, to recognize the good--to apprehend it and make it be part of our being--we must engage the whole of creation, that is, we must engage and apprehend life as it is lived. God created the world as good, and that goodness still exists--it is the goodness that flows forth from the new creation brought about by the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Learning to do the good is also about learning to see the good in others, but it is also about making good for others by doing nothing that would bring about a negative effect.
I believe that we live in a world where there is entirely too much hatred. At times even common civility seems to be lacking. Good, in this sense, includes good manners. Unfortunately, for the past ten years or so that I have been following religion on the Internet, I have encountered the extremes of bad manners, rudeness, crass comments, and thoughtless speech presented in the name of faith.
I only bring this up because we have to start somewhere if we are going to do the good and fill the earth with it, and furthermore we have to fill it every day because goodness in our world is a little like a gas tank on big car: it tends to run out quickly. No problem though because the source of goodness is like a river of living water springing up. It won't run out.
Maybe you've been a little rude in someone's combox (that's real life too), or perhaps you have taken it to speech with someone else. Perhaps you said something to a spouse or child that you regret. Not a problem--we have all done it. Reconciliation is as close as a prayer. If you feel that you need, you can receive the Sacrament of Penance as well. However, begin by going to your room and shutting the door and then get down on your knees and ask the Lord Jesus to fill you with goodness.
Goodness has the power to permeate the world around us, and evil tends to run from goodness. Therefore, goodness is the true power that we must learn to apprehend if we are serious about transforming the world. Every action of ours--every word we say and write and everything we do--should aspire to create goodness in others, to edify, to build up. Clearly, such is the sign and evidence of goodness. It does the opposite of evil, which, rather than building ties, bonds, and relationships, has only the power to tear apart.
Goodness has the power to cast out evil, as the gospel story today of the demons being driven into the swine herd indicates. Goodness has great power, but often it will encounter opposition as the story also indicates--in the case of our Lord being asked to leave the district, he encountered fear and misunderstanding.
I want to sum up today's reflection by emphasizing that it is entirely possible for us to defeat evil. In fact we are called to do so. However, we have to start somewhere and the right place to start is with our own lives. It's not that we have to become perfectly good saints before we can do and share goodness, but that we have to ask for goodness to be given to us, just as we are now. We must bring all that we are to the Lord and allow him to begin healing us and transforming us.
It's true that when we bring ourselves to the Lord we do it in prayer, yet we should also see that we encounter him every aspect of life and being human. Thus, in our living we have a lifetime of opportunity to make ourselves one with all that is good. With the right amount of prayer and discernment we will always be able to recognize and distinguish the good and the evil, and ultimately we will stand victorious with our victorious God who is all good.
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