This is the third installment on the subject of what to do with the matter of evil. In the first minute we were born, life showed itself as struggle to survive, thrive and succeed. Thinking is hard work and accurate thinking is doubly hard. If you haven’t read the first two articles with the same name please do so as I will be building a line of thinking that will make more sense if you have all the pieces.
In my first article on this subject we were looking at how many have considered evil a battle we can’t win and often people resign themselves to just try to avoid it as best they can. This is the lie that comes from Satan to persuade us to give up before we try. I used as an illustration the Star Wars saga and the battle of what seems to be weak rebels and the mighty corrupt empire. In real life we are confronted by many forms of evil from telling simple lies to out-and-out brutality. Evil is a fact but doesn’t have to win the day. God made us with the ability to not only challenge evil but also to win over it. According to the apostle Paul that’s called a “Good Fight”. If you haven read that first article please do so before reading this second installment on this subject.
Sometimes in life it feels like it doesn’t matter what you do because evil is going to win. The problem with that thinking is that it’s a lie and Satan and his evil servants want you to believe it so that the lie becomes enlarged and the truth shrinks in your eyes. Satan wants you to believe that evil is stronger than you are so you will give in and surrender.
I read two articles recently about two very different Christian leaders. Both are high-profile men who speak to thousands of people daily yet they are so different in both their personal lives and their weaknesses. They both have learned to live with these weakness, one by covering it up and the other by confessing and leveraging it. They both are respected throughout the body of Christ and you would recognize their names. They are responsible for thousands of people in ministries as well as millions of dollars worth of assets. Now, I’m not so impressed with people who have such influence until I discover what’s going on behind the scenes and whether their ministry and personal lives are honest reflections of themselves as genuine followers of Christ.
I witness to many Christians trying to live a life of faith in a lopsided way by just learning more and more information about God without actually changing how they live. When I became a true believer I knew I had to change not just my thinking but the way I was living my life. Now, 45+ years later, I am still in the same place…..learning and engaging in the changes that Christ compels me to.
Everyone loves to hear a good story. The problem is we don’t think our stories are that good. I have talked to people all around the world and found that we all have the same problem. Unless you’re an extrovert, people struggle with sharing Christ! The truth is, even extroverts struggle with sharing their faith. Why? Because deep down we all know we are flawed. We have problems in life. We don’t have it all together and never will and this intimidates us.
When I was a young boy I dreamed and played “Army” with my friends. As young boys we played such games because we had heroes with character traits that we admired. John Wayne was one of the people that we looked up to as a “man’s man”. He portrayed courage in the face of fear and valor when the battle was raging.
As we approach the holiday celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I thought it would be healthy to remind myself and others about just how important it is to cultivate a thankful heart. I can certainly get wrapped up in the spiritual war that is going on in our country. I constantly need to be reminded of the words of the apostle Paul when he states clearly that we don’t just wrestle with natural things, like politics and general nastiness, but we wrestle with all the evil and wickedness of a Satanic agenda. That agenda is eradicating the peace of God and promoting hatred and distrust. That can not happen. A spirit of thankfulness is what will miraculously bring forth growth and victory!
As we approach the holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is very easy to get caught up in the busyness that comes with this time of year. It is easy to lose focus and fail to be really thankful for all of the blessings that God has brought into our lives. Ironically, we can become ungrateful due to all the preparations and responsibilities that the holidays can bring.
