November 27th
Today's Bible Reading
Overcome
Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Evil is inevitable. It is everywhere. It effects everyone. No one can avoid it or evade it. People will active evil toward us. They will assault us in a devilish manner. They will degrade and devalue us. Their verbiage will be venomous, their comments will be cutting and their desire will be our demise. They will seek to dismiss us and to destroy us. They are hateful and hurtful when they attack. They strike without regard or remorse. They are evil and seek to do us evil.
Their horrific actions elicit our response. They seek a reaction. They want us to counter their confrontation. It is our move. Our immediate inclination is to return evil for evil. Our impulsive recourse is to beat them down for belittling us. We want to hurt them as they hurt us, we want to make them feel what we felt and we want to speak of them like they spoke of us. Our natural desire is to crush them. Revenge, retaliation and retribution are the return they deserve. Vengeance is merited. There should be no holding back and no mercy given. The evil done warrants evil dispensed.
Yet this response only exasperates evil. It causes us to be overcome by the very evil that overtook us. We become like them and act in like manner. We react in sin rather than as a saint. We respond in the flesh rather than as a follower. We answer in carnality rather than in Christlikeness. In doing so, we create an endless cycle of perpetual evil.
Our text offers an alternative. It presents a righteous response. We are to overcome evil with good. Good toward them should be our recourse. It should be our only response. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curses you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Luke 6:27-28). These actions are not the normal chosen response toward those who chose to perpetrate evil upon us, but this is the Christ-like response. As believers we overcome evil not with more evil, but with good.
Preceding this verse Paul says, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." (Rom 12: 17-20). The good you do toward those that have done evil against you will display their ungodly nature and demonstrate your Godly character. Do good when evil is done to you just as Christ was good to you even when you were hateful toward Him.
Today do good to all. Don’t discriminate your dispensing of good. Be good to those who are good to you and to those who aren’t good to you. Ask the Lord to help you to be good to those that who have hurt you or harmed you. Be the one that overcomes the evil around you with good, rather than the one who retaliates with more evil.
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