Devotion.al

Tag: evil

  • Greater or Lesser Than Evils

    Greater or Lesser Than Evils

    Read: Psalm 119:41–48, Deuteronomy 10:10–22, James 2:14–26

    ‌🔎 Focus

    ‌No one ever accomplishes good by means of evil, because they are themselves conquered by the evil. On the contrary, evil is corrected by good.

    St. Barsanuphius the Great

    You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.

    James 2:19 (NRSVue)

    It is a good exercise to ask, what is evil? Why do we categorize certain perspectives, actions, or even people as evil? Often, what we judge as evil is really about what we view as normative, as if normal was automatically good (or evil, for that matter).

    ‌‌✟ Devotion

    ‌In the US, today is Halloween. It is a combination of many traditions, and always comes with a plethora of arguments as to whether Christians should observe it, participate in any type of recognition of it (Truck ‘n’ Treat, Harvest Party, and the like), or stay in a holy huddle.

    ‌In circles, 31 October has some Western Christian specific applications. In a few traditions, this (though really beginning at sunset) is the beginning of The Allhallowtide season, which is a time set aside in the year for first, observation of the (known & unknown, martyred and not) who have gone before us to their Heavenly Reward. It concludes with All Souls Day, which is an observation of all Christians who have gone before (and we won’t talk about Saints and saints).

    ‌For those of us of the Protestant traditions (in other words, not Roman Catholic or a myriad of Orthodox), 31 October is also Reformation Day, the general agreement that the Reformation began with Martin Luther starting an argument about the sufficiency of Christ by nailing his proposals (theses) to the gate of churches in the German city of Wittenberg. To be clear, the undercurrents of the Reformation were already moving (from an historical viewpoint) in Europe (with martyrs, too). Luther’s dramatic postings (though in course with cultural expectations) created a great story.

    ‌The secular and non-Christian aspects that we are experiencing for Halloween are, truly, a perversion and syncreticism of pre-Christian, Christian, and post-Christian belief structures. Just a side not, perhaps instead of assaulting Halloween, we do something different (and I’m not talking about Harvest Parties and Trunk ‘n’ Treats). Not that I necessarily have an idea, but much of the angst and outrage borders on evil, which St. Barsanuphius was warning us about.

    ‌As we watch functionally innocent children walk around asking for candy—who are dressed up as ghosts, stereotypical witches, super heroes, and what have you—we need to ask ourselves why we perceive a particular costume as good or evil. It’s not that I, for example, don’t have opinions, but I have had to spend time pondering why a particular costume is “evil” versus “good”. This is not about relativism. This is about my of normal masked with what is “good”.

    ‌If there were two kids, one dressed up like a vampire and one dressed up as Knight Templar (a knight order during the Crusades in the Near East), my automatic emotional response would be vampire=bad, and Templar=good. However, if I were born and raised from the Near East (regardless of ), I might be very hard pressed to figure out which is evil, because the Templars were not good from a Near East perspective, because they came in conquest (motives aside) for generations.

    ‌If I, as a parent, knew that my neighbor was from the Near East, and dressed my child up as a Knight Templar (assuming my child wanted that), am I doing evil to my neighbor? Am I loving my neighbor?

    ‌This is not about incidental errors, but actions performed despite knowledge. Which brings us to the words of James. The demons James refers to know who God is. They know God’s . It is arguable that they might even be more aware of who God is than any of the Saints or saints that have gone before us.

    ‌Yet, they shudder. I’ve heard many people ask, how could one know God (not bad or evil people, that’s different) and be against God? James doesn’t answer that question, but the implication is bigger than we think. Demons, who likely know God on a divine level beyond us, still oppose God. If the demons, who know God in ways beyond us, can oppose God, why not humans?

    ‌We can conclude that evil is opposing God. The implication with James, though, is that (perhaps) true evil is knowing God and opposing God anyway.

    ‌🤔 Reflection

    ‌What recently has evoked “that is evil” from you? Did you spend time evaluating why it was evil? When you declare something evil, do you ever check against the Scriptures to see what the Scriptures say?

    ‌‌⏏️ Act

    ‌As you observe (and maybe even candy to) children as they walk your neighborhood tonight, look at their costumes. Ask yourself why that child chose that costume, and why they thought it was “good”? Then ask yourself why you thought it was good or evil and why?

    ‌🙏 Prayer

    ‌God, as we look about the world, we often conclude what is evil and what is good without asking you. Help us to look to you to define these terms, rather than how the world and our personal relationships tell us to. Help us to as filled with toward in our perception of their wrong-ness, as you were while we were in our sin. Amen.

  • Field Placement

    Field Placement

    Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 4:38–41; John 4:31–38

    Flour has become a no-go for many people these days. The fight against gluten and carbohydrates is quite prevalent. Much of this has to do with how much our surroundings have changed. Most of us don’t need many carbohydrates. Those whose bodies are still their primary focus for work, still need them, but the of us…not so much.

    Where Elisha kept and why he kept flour is kind of a . Perhaps that was a thing. If you had oil, flour, water, and , you could make bread (you know, that evil carbohydrate).

    Imagine having enough in God that you would simple flour to turn a poisonous stew into something safe and nutritious (no one said tasty). That is the faith of Elisha. This is the kind of faith that it would be nice to have, but we all are too educated and smart to believe that flour would cure poisonous stew. And, yes, that is something to mourn.

    , on the other hand, wasn’t looking for stew. He wasn’t looking for food at all. At least, that’s the image he gives. Jesus was fully . Jesus needed food. Jesus also used examples that were in front of him.

    It is quite likely that the disciples had brought food. Perhaps even freshly made bread from freshly harvested grain. Or perhaps there was grain harvesting happening around them right now. While watching a single human harvest grain may not be impressive. Which may be the point.

    A harvester would have been in the middle of a field. Over time the harvester makes a difference, but in the beginning, that single person gets lost in a sea of grain. Using that imagery, Jesus was telling his disciples that the work of the is now and tomorrow.

    ※Reflection※

    • Why is the image of a single harvester lost in a sea of grain important for our kingdom work?
    • Thinking of the grain that Jesus used as an example, how might the Elisha’s flour fit into telling something about the ?
    • Do you think of yourself has a harvester, worker, planter, plower in the kingdom of God?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, you bring the harvest. Help us to be the faith- and -filled people that you want for your kingdom. Amen.

  • Lamentable Change

    Psalm 30; Lamentations 1:16–22; 2 Corinthians 7:2–16

    The might of God both obvious and not-so should provide for all who follow God. We should also be aware of it such that we do not wander far away. We read the triumphant story of Joshua yesterday, and today we read lament.

    This lament is that of a person (in fact, a people) who has lost everything. They’ve lost their mooring to self, , , security. All that was had is now gone.

    This rhythm of victory of God to leaving God and back again is pretty consistent in the history of Israel. It is also part of our lives.

    It may not be as dramatic, yet the littlest steps that Israel followed away from God eventually led to their walking fully away from God. It can be the same for us.

    We can also walk away for a short time or a long time. Whatever it is that drew us away from God may keep us away longer than other things.

    Often, though, we get lost in our heads and hearts, and the evil one and evil thoughts keep us isolated from God. We allow the evil one and these thoughts between us and God. God’s still there.

    Let’s read 2 Corinthians 7:2–6 as if God (striking the problems) were writing the letter to you…“Make room in your hearts for me. I didn’t do anything wrong to anyone. I didn’t ruin anyone. I didn’t take advantage of anyone. I’m not saying this to make you feel guilty. I’ve already said that you are in my heart so that we die and live together with you. I have every confidence in you. I’m terribly proud of you. I’m filled with encouragement. I’m overwhelmed with happiness while in the middle of all your cares in the world. When I arrived in Bethlehem, I couldn’t physically. I was surrounded by problems. There were problems with foreigners, and there were problems in my extended family. However, I want to comfort you who are discouraged…I know about your desire to see me, how you were sorry, and about your concern for me, so that I was even happier. Even though my letter hurt you, I don’t regret it. Well—I did regret it just a bit because I see that letter made you sad, though only for a short time. Now I’m glad—not because you were sad but because you were made sad enough to change your hearts and lives. You felt sadness so that no one was harmed by me in any way. Holy sadness produces a changed heart and that leads to and leaves no regrets, but sorrow under the influence of the world produces . Look at what this very experience of holy sadness has produced in you: such enthusiasm, what a desire to clear yourselves of blame, such indignation, what , what purpose, such concern, what justice! In everything, you have shown yourselves to be innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it wasn’t for the sake of the one who did wrong, or for the sake of the one who was wronged, but to show you your own enthusiasm …my bragging has also been proven to be true, just like everything I said to you was true… I’m happy because I can completely depend on you.”

    Okay. It’s a stretch. The underlying truth isn’t a stretch. There is nothing that keeps God from wanting a with you. Not a thing. Everything you’ve done…irrelevant. Everything you’ve thought…wiped away. Everything you’ve felt…embraced.

    You are a child of God.

  • Choosing the Fruit

    Choosing the Fruit

    Psalm 92:1–4, 12–15; Genesis 3:14–24; Hebrews 2:5–9

    There is something odd about the story in the Garden of Eden, and it isn’t the Fall (though that is central to our faith). The story in the Garden of Eden revolves around loving obedience/ of God (that was a failure) and two trees.

    The apple (usually red) is the fruit to represent the fruit of the Tree of the of Good and . Not being a red apple fan, it can be hard for me to see the attraction (as Eve was attracted to it). It really wasn’t an apple, maybe. We don’t know what it was.

    Based upon what was provided in the story of the Fall, neither Adam nor Eve had experienced or evil. Therefore, even their concepts of and good were not very deep. Describing a beautiful sight to a person born blind, or beautiful sound to a person born deaf is kind of like trying to explain, good, evil, or life to people who have no experience.

    What did the fruit of the Tree of Life have? Some people have created imagery that show that the Tree of Life also produces apples. That similarity is interesting but peculiar.

    It is the fruit of the trees, though, that show something about God. Some say that God put the trees as a test for humanity. It might be better to think of them as aspects of God in material form. As Christians, we talk about eternal life as the ultimate gift of following Christ. Eternal life was originally just a fruit. As Christians (and definitely as Nazarenes/Wesleyans/Methodists/etc), we talk about and believe in it. To be , one must know what evil is…perhaps.

    This, of course, will immediately cause many to shake or tremble, for by that logic, if God is holy (which God is), God must know evil. The fruit of the trees shows that. Knowing what evil is does not mean one is evil.

    The fruits are a foreshadow of what is to come for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We will receive the “fruit” that remains in the Garden and will know what evil is so that we know what truly Holiness is.

    ※Reflection※

    • How does knowing evil help you know what holiness is?
    • Why is knowing holiness important?
    • As you think of yourself on the spectrum of 1 (Holy) to 10 (Evil), where are you?

    ※Prayer※

    God, you have made us lower than you and yet us so much. Help us to know what evil is that we will instead know what it means to seek you. Amen.

  • Sighting Evil

    Sighting Evil

    Psalm 74; 1 Samuel 16:14–23; Revelation 20:1–6

    Evil spirits or the “spirit of evil” has a in human culture throughout the ages. Even for those who have no deistic belief, there is an understanding that something is completely evil.

    There was nothing positive about the Holocaust. In fact, most people would state that the men and women (for there were both) who created and perpetuated it were evil. There seems to be no question that there was a “spirit of evil” when it came to the Holocaust. The primary spirit of evil took the form of the other. Jews were the (along with gypsies, we often ignore). Jews were blamed for the punitive consequences of World War I, which destroyed the German economy and culture (in some ways). This allowed a person such as Adolf Hitler to become the .

    However, the Christian take on Hitler, as hard as it is, was that there was a possibility of for him (along with all the others). How one could, on earth, move beyond what he led takes more than I could comprehend. The spirit of evil takes on many forms. Some of them seem benign. Some of them being obviously harmful. Christians over many years have argued over what makes something evil, or if something is indeed evil. A number of changes in American culture and law in the last few decades have certainly been at the fore.

    The spirit of evil that Saul had sounds similar to a split personality. In many places, we read that Saul cared for, respected, and relied upon David. Yet, Saul would try to kill David in many ways, including by chasing him down with an army. The divergence of thinking certainly sounds like modern mental illness. Which leads us back to evil. If someone is mentally ill, is it a spirit of evil or is it something else?

    Whatever guise or seeming, until all is over and we are at the throne of God, we will be dealing with a spirit of evil (or many spirits). While the Book of Revelation tells us the (though God’s victory doesn’t really come as a surprise), what it means that evil is bound for a thousand years, but will have to be released for a time after that is beyond us. We can guess, but it would only be a guess.

    This not a suggestion for fatalism. If we believe that God is good, died for us, and that we have the Spirit in us, then evil’s presence is not pre-determined to lead to evil. It is our own thoughts and actions. Our actions, though, cannot be limited to our circle, but must also be part of our community.

    ※※

    • What do you think the difference is between evil, , and mistakes? How might understanding these 3 things adjust our interactions with the world?
    • When was the last time you used “evil” in conversation? Was the context actually that of evil, or was it something different? If it was evil, what made it so? If it wasn’t truly evil, what might have been a better way to phrase it?

    ※※

    Lord, help us to guard our hearts against evil. Help us to understand your view of evil and to be those that bring light upon it. Amen.

  • Shun To Death

    Shun To Death

    Psalm 77; Job 5:8–27; 1 Peter 3:8–18a

    . That seems straightforward. However, we beings often make it far too complicated. Or, even worse, we make it about .

    The is not about others; it is about us. What we do, as the household of God, matters. Far too many people have taken words like Peter’s and turned them into bludgeons and daggers. People have taken these words and applied them to a world that is perishing. Instead, these words apply to us so that we do not continue down the road of the perishing.

    Part of the Lenten “” is the awareness of our mortality. In the COVID era, we are probably a bit more aware of it than we would “normally” be. Barring wartime, there isn’t as much of a focus on our imminent demise as there is now.

    Perhaps the church ought to be praising God for a whole year of Lent, though that doesn’t make it easy. Our mortality, organization mortality, operational mortality, the death of have all come. Small Businesses had struggled. Some have died. This is not something to be happy about. Many (but not all) big companies have become stronger. Again, though, Lent isn’t about business (though businesses like to sell it).

    Shunning evil and facing mortality (Lent) is for us.

    Yes, we want the world to come to know and follow ! Much of our worldliness needs to die for that to happen. Perhaps the deepest and hardest struggle we Christians have is, what of our worldliness needs to die?

    ※Reflection※

    • What worldliness of yours needs to die?
    • If you are on social media, look at what you share and like. Is it Christ-honoring/following, or is it worldly?
    • How do evaluate what is worldliness and what isn’t? Does your understanding match that of others? Why does it matter? Why doesn’t it matter?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we know that our sin was nailed upon the cross. Help us the worldliness in our lives that needs to go with our sin. Amen.

  • Help Me Understand

    Help Me Understand

    Psalm 102:12–28; Job 6:1–13; Mark 3:7–12

    The recent Super Bowl reminded me of the first Super Bowl victory of the Seattle Seahawks. Having grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area and experiencing the 49ers and the Raiders, a Super Bowl championship was exciting, but not region-stopping. Super Bowl XLVIII was a disappointment in gameplay, but the Puget Sound and much of the Pacific Northwest was ecstatic with the Seahawks victory.

    The reason to bring this up isn’t the victory itself, but the aftermath. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, the areas outside of Seattle proper like to avoid Seattle proper. Yet, people took vacation days and pulled their children from school to go to the Seahawk victory parade. This was a seriously happy occasion.

    That’s kind of the image that we have here in Mark. People from the surrounding area came to the area to find . Can you imagine the ruckus that went with that? All those people! Imagine a small town that suddenly had a huge influx of people from everywhere else (Sturgis is another example of that).

    Amidst all that chaos, all that overwhelming number of people. God moved. People were healed. The of God wasn’t just near…it was at hand!

    Then Mark just seems to toss in a quick mention about the spirits. Yep, nothing to see here. Just move along.

    Yet, there is something strange here.

    1. These evil spirits, if they were really in control, would they have gotten anywhere near the of God?
    2. Were the evil spirits drawn to the , even as we are, despite their nature?
    3. Did, perhaps, they seek even when told to be silent?

    The don’t say why. That really isn’t the point of the Scriptures. It’s in the of the whys, though, that we exist.
    We shouldn’t avoid the whys. The whys are where most people live. We should be present with others in the whys so that they know they are not alone.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we always have more . us in our questions, and help us to meet others in theirs. Amen.

  • Prophetic Testing

    Prophetic Testing

    Deuteronomy 13:1–5

    Prophetic words are very common in times of unrest. Much of the Old Testament are prophetic words during times of unrest. The times of unrest were because the people of Israel didn’t follow God. Since their focus was on the world, God became a bit player in their lives.

    This should sound familiar. The last decade or so has had many “prophetic” words spoken. Most of the ones given attention were of the white evangelical variety.

    Whether they were racist diatribes against Obama, misogynistic diatribes against Hillary Clinton, or (really) attempts at character assassinations of any so-called “liberal” , it was out-of-hand. It also shows how much the white evangelical church/culture was in “the hands” of a singular political party.

    However, despite the “airplay” of much of this, there was just as much towards whichever “” Republican or “conservative” that was the focus of the day. It just wasn’t publicized.

    Perhaps, someone reading this will say, “See, it’s because ‘they’ are biased!” That isn’t the issue for Christians. The real issue is that the church thinks that it is effective by walking hand-in-hand with earthly power.

    The prophetic in this passage in Deuteronomy is interesting. One of the biggest tests of a prophet is, do their words come true? Another part of the test, do miracles happen? The church has done okay on the first, and not-so-good on the second.

    It is the third test, however, that is the crucial one, does this draw us away from God?

    By far, it isn’t solely an (US) American issue. It is an earthly powers issue, and the church is tempted around the world to succumb.

    How’s this for a test? Does the person seek to make the “other” the enemy? Not their struggles, their opinion, even their sins…the person themselves.

    If there really is an (the Image of God) in every being, then is defining the “other” as “the enemy” is defining God as the enemy? This is how earthly work.

    The third test, then, becomes does this “prophetic” turn people against the Imago Dei?

    Over the last 4 years, much attention and vitriol have poured out in the US (and then overflowed into the world). Most of it was based upon and fear (and here’s another test: did you say to yourself, yes, “their” pain and fear, and not acknowledge yours?).

    Without question, there was a lot of Godly righteous anger. Without question, there was a lot of earthly self-righteous anger. Amid it all, there were Godly prophetic voices and earthly prophetic voices dressed in guise.

    ※Reflection※

    What “voices” do you (really) listen to in your life? What is the spiritual background of those voices? What is the spiritual expression (how do they live out their lives, versus words) of these “voices”? Do the voices ever challenge your way(s) of thinking?

    ※Prayer※

    God, forgive us for not actively listen for and to your . Forgive us for not testing the words of others against your Word. Amen.