I’m trying to find a balance between reading the news and isolating myself. I’m doing this for self-preservation – watching what is happening in the country that I love dearly hurts. It frightens me. It makes me mad. It makes me want to DO something. Evil seems to be taking over. When someone walks up to two police officers and shoots them each in the head – that’s evil. When others show up at the hospital to shout obscenities and wishes that those officers were dead – well, now that’s something beyond evil. I don’t even have a word for it.
So, then, the question is how do I keep going? What should I do? For me, coping starts by reminding myself that the battle is already won. We know that Jesus triumphed over evil when He rose from the grave.
As far as what to do…I heard something in a sermon yesterday that has me thinking. The pastor said “For believers in Jesus, this is as close to hell as we are going to get. For people who reject God and refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Saviour, this is as close to heaven as they are going to get.”
I’d encourage you to read that last quote several times. For believers, this life is hard, but because of the work of Jesus, we can know we are safe in His hands for eternity. But. For those hate-filled souls who don’t know Jesus – the power and adrenaline felt when a trigger is pulled, or the attention gained by spewing foulness at an emergency room door, or the act of looting and rioting for that matter, is going to be the best they ever see.
When I truly absorb this idea, then I can’t help but feel love for those angry souls. I feel like crying for them instead of retaliating. Instead of wanting to strap on my Glock and buy a ticket to LA, I hit my knees.
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