13 From Evil
From Evil
The first thing to say about evil is that it is a reality, and we should not pretend that there is no such thing. Christian Scientists, like Hindu mystics, want to think it away as an illusion; others would see it as good in the making, or good misunderstood; but in the Bible evil is as real as good, and the distinction between them is ultimate.
The second thing to say about evil is that it is an irrational and meaningless reality, making no sense, and only definable as good perverted.
The third thing to say about evil is that God is handling it. At the cost of Calvary he has taken responsibility for bringing good out of it; already he has triumphed over it, and eventually he will eliminate it. The Christian contemplating evil is not a pessimist, for he knows that one day this mad and meaningless reality which destroys good shall be destroyed itself. Christ ensured this by conquering cosmic evil on the cross (see Colossians 2:15); he will finally snuff it out at his return.
On that day, the Christian expects to see that out of all his embroilments with the evil in and around him has come greater good for him, and greater glory for God, than could have been otherwise. That will finally vindicate the goodness and wisdom of God in giving evil so long a run in his world.
Two Sorts of Evil
Evil means badness which has the effect of ruining, or wasting, or ruling out, goodness—that is, the achieving of a life that is upright, worthwhile, and joyful. Evil, as defined, takes two forms. First, there is badness external to us, the badness of circumstances, “trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity.” Circumstances become evil when they inflict on us more pain and frustration than we can turn into good by the way that we take them. In fact, circumstances are not often that bad. Beethoven was able to turn the frustration of deafness and the pain of loneliness into the music of heroism; countless invalids have been able to achieve dignity and serenity despite chronic physical agony; and the psalmist can say, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes” (Psalm 119:71). Yet when, as sometimes happens, pain is such that a man can only scream till he faints from exhaustion, this is surely evil.
Second, there is badness within us, the badness of corruption. This is the badness of bad men and fallen angels, the badness which is from one standpoint a lack of good and from another good gone wrong: as in the devil, in Adam, and in you and me. How and why good corrupts is more than Scripture explains or than we can grasp, but the fact is there. And whereas in relation to the first sort of evil we are passive, suffering it, in relation to the second sort we are active, doing it. “The evil I do not want is what I do,” says Paul (Romans 7:19); to which every honest man’s response must be, “Yes, and so do I.”
God to the Rescue
Christians cannot disregard evil around and within them, nor are they at liberty to try, for their calling is to face evil and overcome it with good (Romans 12:21). But this assumes that evil does not overcome them; and here the Lord’s Prayer comes in once more.
Jesus tells us to ask God to deliver us “from the evil.” Whether this Greek phrase means “evil” in general (so RSV text) or “the evil one” (so RSV margin) does not matter, though the second is perhaps likelier. The first rendering would mean “deliver us from all the evil in the world, in ourselves, in other men, in Satan and his hosts”; the second rendering would mean “deliver us from Satan, who seeks our ruin, and from all that he exploits to that end—all the ungodliness of the world, all the sinfulness of our flesh, all spiritual evil of every sort”; both renderings come to the same thing.
And the great point is that Jesus’ act of giving us this prayer is an implicit promise that if we seek deliverance from evil, we shall find it. The moment we cry “deliver,” God’s rescue operation will start; help will be on the way to cope with whatever form of evil threatens us.
Further Bible Study
Delivered from evil:
2 Corinthians 1:3-11; 12:1-10
Questions for Thought and Discussion
What is God doing now about evil? What will he do ultimately?
What determines whether evil circumstances make or break us?
Whom does God deliver from evil, and why?