What is Evil?
By Erik Farstad
February 23, 1998
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." Matthew 6:13
A reader asks: How do you define evil?
Well if you read how I defined good, you could almost take the exact opposite and apply it here. Much like good, evil is not a word that should be used to describe someone. There are no evil or good people, just people. There are though, evil and good acts done by people. I believe it is important that we distinguish between the two before we try to define these terms. Evil is anything that threatens, causes distress or harm to God, His works or His people.
I believe many people, and maybe this is why this particular reader asked this question, think that Christianity or Christians think or believe that all non-believers are evil. Why does this happen? Well, perhaps because we are taught that sin is evil. Now this is a truth, no denying that, the Bible is clear on this. Committing sin is an evil act in God�s eyes. But if you look at the word evil, you will find that even Webster�s defines evil as sin. Then for discussion sake, we could say that sin and evil are interchangeable. One can go farther to say that if you sin, then you must be evil. Right? No. Let us not mix up our nouns with our adjectives.
We are created in God�s image. God is not evil, but the embodiment of all that which is righteous and holy. The only true evil one is Satan himself. You were born a sinner, due to the fall of Adam and Eve found in the Book of Genesis. Like Adam and Eve, you too can fall into evil acts if you allow Satan to temp you. God created you and I to live a holy life, worshipping and serving Him. You can choose to turn from God and be tempted by the things of this world. When you do this, you choose evil over good. The hard part is, Satan is the master of disguise and illusion. What you see as OK, good even, in time will lead to a dark evil and ultimately death.
I understand this isn�t a popular message, but a real one. I want to try and be clear about what evil is. If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, let me stress this, you are not evil. You have just fallen into the trap of this world, believing the trickery of Satan. Satan wants you to believe that Christians think that you�re an evil person so you won�t turn to Christ. He�ll do anything to keep you away from Christ. Words like evil and sin are not popular in society today. No one wants to admit or even consider themselves attached to such a label. But here is the truth, as I see it: If you sin, and we all do, then we all commit evil acts against God. Are we evil people because of that? No, but we are people created in God�s image that have allowed the evil one (Satan) to have some control in our lives.
Can you avoid evil. Yes. Knowing and having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the first step to avoiding Satan�s evil presence in your life. Evil is abundant everywhere. All of us have a choice to either surrender to it or fight off the attack with the power of Christ. Only with God can you ultimately win the battle over evil. Alone you will perish, with Christ you will survive. You are a person first and then your actions describe the way you live!
For more on this subject read my devotional: Sin not equal to a Bad Person.
In Him, "E"