Evil: What Is It Good For?

EVIL WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

“Evil is the corruption that arises when a good but potentially corruptible creature turns away from the infinite good of the Creator to the lesser good of the creatures.” – Norman Geisler.

We would like to say that evil is good for nothing, but there seems to be some good that comes out of evil when looked at critically. We also must remember that as we look at the purpose of evil that we must use these reasons only when appropriate. One should not go up to someone when tragedy strikes and try to demonstrate them that there are reasons for the evil that just struck their lives. Just be their friend, and a shoulder to cry on, as there will be time to walk through the purpose of why this happened to them. Of course, there are times we just do not know why evil happens, as we are not God and do not know His mind or thoughts. Sometimes we just have to rely on our Savior, and know that in the end evil will be destroyed.

The best book I read on this topic is by Dr. Norman Geisler, “The Roots of Evil.” There may be better ones, but I have not read any yet. In his book he gives ten different reasons why there is evil in the world. I will be giving those ten in a much shorter version. If you want to study this topic further I would encourage you to buy Dr. Geisler’s book.

Evil can be the result of our actions directly or indirectly. If one chooses to abuse their bodies with drugs, then there is the great chance you will die early from the damage it causes your body. If you choose to sit on the couch and do nothing then you are most likely going to suffer from poverty and all that comes with that situation. If your parent sits around and does nothing, it is going to be likely that as a child you are going to suffer the consequences of those actions as well. You are affected by the indirect actions of your family.

Evil can also be the product of good activities. People love to swim, ski and play professional sports, but with those activities many people have died from accidents. People drowned, were hurt by avalanches, and there are many injuries and deaths in professional sports. These are all good activities in themselves, but come with the potential of evil happening.

On the other hand some pain comes first then pleasure afterwards. When we get hunger pains it is to remind us to eat and refresh ourselves. A toothache is a sign that it is time to get a filling before the pain becomes worse and you could lose the tooth. Pain is an alarm that reminds us there is something going wrong, or something happened. When our conscience hurts (guilt, conviction), it our souls telling us we better correct the hurt we caused another or we better watch what we are about to do.

Nature after the fall also comes with the potential of evil. With rain we get floods that cause much destruction and property damage, but we need rain to survive. Tornadoes happen when cold and hot air collide causing the funnel, but we need both air currents to maintain a proper climate throughout the year. We need lightning to help keep the ground fertile, but it also causes fires and injures people. With the maintaining a fallen world there is the possibility of evil happening, but at the same time without the rain, air currents, and lightning, our planet would become inhabitable.

Mark 9:20, “So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.” There is also the spiritual warfare that is going on behind the scenes that we do not see. Satan and his little henchmen are out to cause evil in our lives, as they hate us and want our destruction. Now we do need to be careful with this one as well, since some people love to blame everything they do wrong on Satan. Trust me, we mess things up plenty without his help, but there is an evil presence out there looking to destroy the community of God. At the same time we can rest assured in what Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Evil during these times can be used to help us become more morally perfect; to become more like Christ in the end. If it takes evil at times to become more like Christ then we should accept it wholeheartedly. Joseph accepted his places in life that God placed him, and what his brothers intended for evil, God used for good. God used this “evil” to ultimately save the very brothers that tried to kill him, and not only his brothers, but an entire nation.

Even in our greatest trials God is there, and if we do not see Him it is because we are probably either not looking for it, or we are not meant to know yet why we are going through what we are. Then we may never know this side of Heaven, and we have to accept it. In this microwave age we expect everything now, but in God’s timing it never seems to happen like that. Just look at any great leader for God, ministry, education, or business and you will see they were tried and tested through out.

Evil is an unfortunate displeasure in our world, but we have a God much bigger then anything that comes into our paths. He created us, and we created evil, so it definitely goes to show that God is bigger then anything we can create since He created us.

Just remember in the end we are all guilty of evil, as we sinned against our Holy God, and Christ paid the ultimate price for the evil we have done to others, and the evil we have chosen to allow into our lives that takes us out of His relationship. At the same time God uses that evil to show us we are out of relationship with Him, and uses it to bring us back and to be more purified.

Then the question is: Why wouldn’t God then allow the good pain, or evil, but stop the bad? Why not stop the bullet used for hunting or prevention of someone hurting another, but stop the killer’s bullet or the rapist? Why allow that kind of evil?

That will be for next time. . .Stay tuned.