Evil

I am outraged by many things lately. We have had a challenging 2020 to say the least. This is proving to be a long, hot summer, with many new dangers and sad events. I am doing my best to maintain my optimism among this chaos, and pray daily that I can remember that God is always with us.

I am beginning to see that Evil is really at work within our communities. Now I am not talking about politics. This is a never ending rabbit hole that I am not going to write about specifically in this post. What I am going to address is this sudden Evil that has begun to permeate our everyday life.

The Evil I am talking about is this call for acceptance of things that we would have considered immoral or unthinkable even a couple of years ago. They are popping up daily and really causing me concern. I am normally not bothered by much of what happens, but the blatant immoral behaviors at present are really too much to take.

I saw a posting a few weeks ago, and again today that reminded me of what I am talking about. I read about a woman who wanted to ride topless through the streets of Minneapolis, on her bicycle, to make a statement about sexism. I am not saying sexism does not exist. Of course it does, both ways. However, what I am saying is, that in order to get your point across, you do not need to ride through the streets naked, exposing yourself to young children, who I am sorry, will see this as something that they do not understand. It is not this woman’s place to educate anyone she sees about human anatomy and sexism. There is really just a better way. I believe that this is Evil at work. This is a person, who is capitalizing on the vulnerability of a city that has burned. She is preying on their weakness because of what has happened. She knows that shock value has really become the norm of the day.

I have seen people afraid to talk to their friends and neighbors about what is going on with many things these days. I have had people say they need to stop talking about my blog to their co-workers because they do not know that they are religious or conservative. They are afraid to discuss anything with their family members that could be even slightly political in nature. I am not talking about the election people. I am talking about the police, racism and community relations.

Now there are tent cities popping up in parks all over Minneapolis. If you are reading this, living in the suburbs, and think that this is not coming to a park near you, you are just not living in reality. The twin cities and their surrounding suburbs are not large and sprawling people. If they are there in Minneapolis, they will spread out to your neighborhoods if allowed to do so.

I am not saying that homelessness is not a problem. It is a huge one, but letting them live in parks in tents is not going to work. We need to find adequate housing and help those who are unemployed or experiencing homelessness find means to get back on their feet. By allowing these encampments to continue, you are not helping to solve the underlying issues and give these people back their dignity. Fund the housing instead of private security for city council members. There is $162,000 right there.

Evil describes the ways that people are treating each other since this societal chaos and the pandemic has started. People are yelling at people for not wearing masks. They are arguing with their coworkers about their political choices and they are calling people racist based upon comments or statements, without having actual conversations. The only actual explanation has got to be Evil. It is a lack of God, a lack of a moral compass to guide us and it is inherently Evil in nature.

The only way to overcome Evil is to turn to Good. Good can only come from knowing God and living like He asks us to. Sometimes, often times, this is difficult to do. It has become increasingly unpopular to do this. The social climate that we currently reside in resists this in most ways. Individualism, secularism and selfishness have permeated our culture. I will argue that we are at a crossroads.

Our hearts need to change. I am not saying that we need to not have consequences or listen to those moral compasses. I will argue that it is more important to do so now, than ever before.

We are all going to need to choose, because we are at a tipping point of sorts. My family and I have chosen already. We are choosing Good over Evil. We have chosen God even though it is becoming increasingly difficult and unpopular to do so. Those who choose to support what they know is wrong, just so they do not have to argue are NOT actually taking the easy way out. In the end, Evil will permeate them.

Evil is the easy way for the moment. Evil does not argue. Evil makes the wrong right. Evil does not make you question deeply and make hard choices. Evil argues you in circles. Evil does things to excuse bad behavior. Evil blames instead of listens. Evil is powerful. Evil convinces you to question what you believe.

Take back your life from Evil. Listen to your moral compass. Help those who seem lost and defeated. Talk to them about the Goodness and God, even if you do not think they are listening. Guide others by your actions. Pray for yourself, but especially those who do not know Him. Pray that God will defeat the Evil that resides.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Isaiah 5:20