Mr. President, Are You Bewildered by Evil?
“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” —Martin Luther King Jr.
American leadership appears incapable of properly and effectively confronting evil. Our president seems to be bewildered, which is defined as “confused, disoriented, and taken aback.” Like cancer and other deadly diseases, evil looks for a place of vulnerability, attacking areas of weakness, destroying that which is precious and all expressions of meaningful life. Evil is the enemy of faith, freedom and peace. People of faith should pray for the courage and wisdom to face evil and thank God when lawbreakers, terrorists and murderers are stopped.
Permit me to address other legitimate concerns that I believe also fall under the category of evil. Let me first emphasize that the only way these issues can be properly dealt with is through the same dedication, determination and unity that exposed terror’s former figurehead, Osama bin Laden, and eliminated him. The hate-filled ideas he encouraged must continually be recognized and resisted by higher ideals—transforming faith, truth and freedom.
In Romans 1, God said that He reveals Himself in what He created. In our own bodies we can study how white blood cells resist evil bacteria and battle for our health by identifying, isolating and eliminating the enemy. Whenever a germ or infection enters the body, white blood cells snap to attention and race toward the scene of the crime. These cells continually look for any sign of disease. When a germ appears, the white blood cells can attack in a variety of ways. Some will produce protective antibodies that will overpower the germ. Others will surround and devour the bacteria. In the same way, we must together deal forcefully with evil.
When the necessary response of healthy cells is adversely affected by a virus like HIV and do not respond appropriately, overall health is threatened. Some of our leaders suffer from a form of “spiritual HIV” and seem unable to recognize evil and how to destroy it, not merely manage it.
Many concerned Americans and Christians agree that there is an obvious, damaging, viral worldview not only accepting bad moral, economic and social practices, but also encouraging them. The long-term cost and damage inflicted through these beliefs and actions prove they have an evil root. Teaching people to place their hope and trust in something other than God is, in fact, the very essence of evil because it encourages idolatry, leading to misplaced trust, which ultimately damages everyone.
