Once again we have come face-to-face with the darker side of evil.
We face evil in some form everyday. We do live in a dark world. We know there is danger but we have become accustomed to the darkness. We use laws, social norms, military force, education, enlightened media pundits and brave first responders to make everyday evil seem less intimidating. We do this in the same way we use the light switch to make the night to less frightening.
Here are some examples of how we attempt to coexist with everyday evil.
Sexual immorality is evil. But rather than face this evil directly we use a different strategy. We have made sexual immorality legal and socially acceptable, even desirable.
Murder is evil. But it has become a culturally accepted method of dealing with the inconvenient consequences of embracing sexual immorality.
It is evil to worship any God but the living God of the Bible. But in the name of tolerance other gods are preferred to the One True God.
Our culture has chosen to bargain with evil rather than to destroy it. We think we have a better way than what the Bible commands. We have become proud.
This appears to work until the darker side of evil shatters our complacency. This darker side mocks the cultural stupidity that has attempted to literally make a deal with the Devil. Our culture has ignored the reality that God is able to humble the proud.
The pictures of those slain by ISIS, the brutal execution of James Foley and the chilling threats of what is to come reveal the darker side of evil. Of course, the truth is that there is no darker side. Evil is evil.
Sexual immorality is not just about having sex outside of marriage. It is really about the destruction of the family and the ultimate degradation of all people.
Abortion is not about preventing unwanted pregnancies. It is about the slaughter of unborn children for personal convenience.
A moment of tolerant silence is not about personal religious liberty. It is about the mocking of the one true God and living in defiance of Him as if He did not exist.
There is no human law, no bargain, no appeasement, no deterrent that can stop the evil that executed James Foley. If our country is to survive the onslaught of evil, we must realize our weakness.
People are ill-equipped to defeat, much less destroy evil. True evil is driven by forces more powerful than flesh and blood. The threat represented by ISIS is spiritual one. The only weapon which can defeat such evil is humble dependance upon the Sovereign Lord of the Universe. The President of the United States realized in 1944, that it would take more than a military invasion to stop the evil represented by the Third Reich. So he, and multitudes of others around the world, cried out in public prayer to God for rescue.
Will we do the same?
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12