It’s no secret that the United States is a country on the verge of no return. Division has sunk its teeth into our society and threatens to tear us to shreds. The attempt on our former President’s life this past weekend was a harrowing display of that division. And not only division, but outright forces of evil.

What has happened in our society that this evil parades around us no longer attempting to hide in the shadows? This evil has become mainstream, normal, an everyday occurrence we barely seem to acknowledge before moving about our days. 

Just this past week, in my own small town tribune, the top headlines were about an almost mass-shooting in Yellowstone and a conviction of a child abuser. The population of my area is under 50,000 people. We are a rural area and yet evil is running rampant here as well.

We as Christians can not let this evil go on unchecked. 

Psalm 5:4 states, “For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.”

And Psalm 99:3 states, “Let them praise your great and awesome name—he is holy.”

Because God is holy he cannot tolerate evil. Evil is the exact opposite of holy therefore the two cannot be in any type of proximity to one another. 

God is perfect and we are not, for that reason God has given us Jesus so that we can someday come into his presence. We are redeemed and made holy through the forgiveness of our sins by the sacrifice of Jesus, and that we accept him into our hearts and make him Lord over our lives.

By doing this, becoming a Christian, we too must now resist all evil.

My Pastor illuminated a passage of scripture this past Sunday that I feel embodies this duty to resist evil.

2 Peter 1:3-8 explains, “His [God’s] divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

My Pastor emphasized the part in which Peter calls for us to “make every effort” in the qualities he outlined. 

This call to make every effort, or to endeavor ceaselessly, to strive diligently, to put forth one’s best attempt, really made an impression on me.

Are we, as Christians, actively engaging ourselves to practice the godly qualities Peter tells us we now have the divine nature to participate in, in order to escape the corruptions caused by evil desires?

If we practice good things, gain knowledge, have self-control, persevere, act in godliness, genuinely care for one another, and love, then there is absolutely no room for evil.

And if we make every effort to demonstrate these characteristics to every person we come into contact with, then evil will flee.

Gradually people around you will notice the difference.

Maybe that coworker sees your genuine interest in them and no longer wants to cuss in front of you and eventually you may notice they quit cussing altogether.

Maybe that family member sees that you love them even if they may have wronged you and they want to know more about where this love comes from and they come to know Jesus.

Maybe there is a person you don’t even have an interaction with, but they see you in moments of self-control and acting in godliness and that makes a difference in them. Perhaps your example makes them think twice about committing an evil act.

It is our duty to show the people around us who don’t know Jesus that his way is different. His way includes love, and peace that passes understanding, and joy that radiates from within. 

There is no room for evil when people live for Jesus and act like Jesus.

If we can make every effort to be like Jesus then things like what happened last Saturday will never happen again, because we love God and we love one another.

And if we love one another then there is no path for evil. It is obsolete. 

Let’s make every effort to live a godly life and rid our society of evil.

“So the last will be first, and the first last.” Matthew 20:16 ESV