The Evil Within

November 6, 2017

It’s not a pretty picture. Yesterday, a gunman opened fire in a Texas church, killing 26 parishioners and wounding another 20. Almost before the last round was fired, the politicking and blaming began as the talking heads wondered out loud what might have motivated the killer to do what he did. No one asking these questions considers the potential for evil within themselves. It’s always “out there,” “someone else,” a secular holier than thou attitude. 

One of the consequences of our culture having rejected the Judeo-Christian worldview is that in doing so, we have also rejected our capacity to understand and address the root causes of evil. We wonder how such things could happen, what would cause someone to commit such depraved acts. A Christian doesn’t have this problem. We understand as St. Augustine understood, the reality of Original Sin; that human beings are not innately good. 

Eugene Peterson, the translator of “The Message,” a popular paraphrase of the Bible, is also a pastor who writes for pastors. He says that one of the problems pastors have is that we have ceased to believe our doctrines. If we believe that our people are basically good, when they act like the sinners they are, we are surprised, then we get angry. “It’s impossible to minister to people out of anger,” he declares. If however, we understand that people are sinners, when they act like it, we can take it in stride, and when they act like saints, we can be pleasantly surprised.

I don’t think we should go around thinking of people in the worst possible terms. I always look for the best in people, but have learned my doctrine well enough that I don’t get put off when the worst comes out. When we believe the Biblical account of human nature, we acknowledge the reality of radical evil that exists in all of us, but we also recognize the possibility of salvation and transformation. The secular commentator encounters these events and is puzzled. Worst, there is no possibility or hope of transformation. Life lurches from one tragedy to another, with short respite in between, but with no hope that it can truly be different.

The issue for me is to remember that the problem of evil is not “out there.” It is “in here,” within my own heart. Whenever a person recognizes this, the door to change is kicked open. That doesn’t mean everyone will take advantage of the power of Christ to change their lives, but until we adopt this basic understanding of life, there is little potential for genuine transformation.

My thoughts tonight certainly don’t assuage the grief of the families torn apart by this evil. They don’t change the evil that lurks within human hearts. But the first step to solving a problem is to recognize it for what it really is. The evil that reared its ugly head in Texas is still evil. But the victims of it understand as most do not, that evil for the Christian does not have the final say. That belongs to Jesus Christ, who tells us, “In this world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).