Richard Dawson, 26 November 2013

The more I reflect on resisting evil the more I realize that the very act of taking a stand is often enough for evil to be thoroughly undone. Often the greatest weapon evil has in its arsenal is the deceit around how strong or how vital a certain evil it. The very thought that a certain evil cannot be overcome or cannot be resisted is often enough to guarantee that evil prospers. The giant Goliath, the walls of Jericho, the Red Sea and the Jordan all looked invincible until someone was willing to stand up to them and then they crumbled or gave way with barely a finger raised in their defense. And today we must remember that no evil stands with ultimate power even if sometimes evil can prevail for awhile. The question is, are we willing to speak the truth about such evil and stay wedded to the truth while others ridicule us. This also is a common theme in the fight against evil—the ridicule of those who are not prepared to admit the truth or make a stand against evil. However, let us not use the tactics of evil to face evil. The Bible is also against mockery and abuse and I suspect many good protest movements and some journalists resort to this quickly in an attempt to forward their cause. I don’t think this works. Proverbs 22 says… ‘Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.’ Using evil to defeat evil is a dangerous and dubious tactic. Better to stick with the truth delivered from a calm but determined heart. Then we model what lies behind the truth we speak and this reinforces our claim to be heard. The Bible says ‘Resist the devil and he will flee from you.’ How important this is.