Troubled times have been in this world for centuries. So have times when goodness prevailed. When troubled times come to our little piece of the earth, it often seems to us that the whole world is in trouble.
Conversely, when things are going wonderfully for us, it seems the whole world is bright, and it’s easy to forget that other people, in other places, may be in serious distress, even starving and dying.
But, one thing’s for sure, when those troubled times do come our way we are often drawn to lash out in destructive activities. Especially when we see evil being done, it’s often our inclination to return in kind. To engage in the very evils we hate.
Sometimes, individuals who intend to stand for something positive or right can lash out with derision and name-calling, bullying, and even threatening behaviors, all in the name of what they believe to be “good.” Yet that will fail. All that is accomplished is increasing the energy flow of evil, because one of the oldest premises in the world is that you do not defeat evil with evil.
The Bible (Romans 12:21) says “overcome evil with good.” Many other belief systems say the very same thing, though the phrasing may be different. The good and the positive is a powerful force. It can, and over and over it has, defeated evil. Unfortunately, sometimes people have stood by and waited far too long to wield the good, and evil has persisted, or they have been passive about the lightening power of the good. Yet when that power of good has finally arisen and been unleashed, it has many times in history quelled the forces of evil.
I wish that in our day, instead of brandishing cruel words and hurtful personal actions at other people, we would join together to “overcome evil with good.”
It’s old knowledge. It works.
