Jump Start # 1426

NOTE TO OUR READERS: Monday is a holiday, so there will be no Jump Start that day.

Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

  As Paul ends this practical section of Romans, he establishes several valuable points about those who oppose, differ and hurt us. He doesn’t explore the reasons why some are like this. Instead, he lets the brethren know what God expects of them. The thoughts surround taking personal revenge. Several valuable thoughts:

• Never pay back evil for evil
• If possible, be at peace with all
• Never take your own revenge
• Do not be overcome by evil
• Do good

These verses flow naturally into the next chapter, where Paul shows us God’s vengeance. It comes in the form of the government. This is how the Lord repays. God allows the government to bear the sword. I saw many old swords in a museum recently. They were large. Swords were weapons to be used in combat. One didn’t spank with a sword. Swords weren’t used across someone’s knuckles. They were used to kill. One, but not the only form of punishment allowed by God, is for the government to use the sword on those who are evil. Some call this capital punishment. The Bible refers to this as God’s vengeance.

These thoughts from Paul destroy the mob mentality that prevailed in the Old West and thrives today. Someone feels that they didn’t get a fair deal. So speaking loudly, he gathers up some buddies and others. They form a mob. Often, in the old westerns, they would try to bust someone out of jail and hang him. They became the trial, jury and executioner all in one. This brought a sense of justice to their minds. Things were even now, they felt. The problem is that they didn’t give the prisoner an opportunity to defend himself, and in so doing, many innocent people were hung. The mob mentality doesn’t listen to reason. Their minds are made up. There was no stopping them.

Paul is trying to get the disciples to take the higher road. These thoughts remind us of the Lord saying, “turn the other cheek.” This is hard. This is especially hard when we feel that we have been cheated, abused and nothing is being done about it. We want justice and we want it now. It is those very thoughts that makes the apostle say, “Do not be overcome by evil.” The more we dwell upon how unfair we have been treated, the more evil retaliation grows in our minds. “I’ll show them…” or, “I’ll make it right,” and what happens is that we justify doing something devious ourselves. I’m not paid what I ought to be, so we justify stealing from the company to make it up. That’s evil for evil. A neighbor did something mean so in the middle of the night I’ll egg his house. That’s evil for evil. Our thoughts are not wholesome. We are not looking out for the best in others. We are certainly not loving our neighbor at that moment. Paul’s words are don’t do that. Never is used twice and do not is used once. Don’t go down that road.

Whatever we may gain through these personal battles is lost by our wrong attitudes, evil ways and not letting our lights shine. Oh yes, we are to let our lights shine. We are to show the world that we are Christians, not just on Sunday mornings as drive into the parking lot of the church building, but at work and in the neighborhood when things do not go our way. Overcome evil with good. Now that’s a real challenge.

Think the best thoughts. Find ways to shine for Christ. Be a tool to bring others to the Lord. Don’t get in the mud with others. When you throw mud, an old saying went, you lose ground. Our true colors often show when we are ruffled, frazzled and upset. Don’t let your anger take you to places you shouldn’t go. Don’t use the occasion to say words that you shouldn’t say. Don’t let others determine your course of action. Do good. Pray. Forgive. Find the proper channels to direct things. If laws have been broken, contact the legal authorities. Don’t take matters into your own hands.

Two modern ways of being overcome by evil may be nothing more than lawsuits and Facebook. Instead of using the six shooter in the old west, we now use the attorney. The threat of suing is a way of getting back and getting what we deserve. People have sued everything and about everyone. Parents have been sued by their own kids. Brothers and sisters have sued each other, especially when they didn’t get what they wanted in the parent’s will. Churches have been sued. Living in Missouri for a decade, one of our favorite places to visit on the way to Branson was Lambert’s, the home of the thrown rolls. It’s advertised that way. They come out with hot rolls, you hold up your hands and they toss them across the room. Great fun. Great rolls. Someone recently sued Lambert’s because they got hit by a flying roll. The threat of a lawsuit is just that, a threat.

Facebook is the other way some are overcome by evil. Things aren’t right and you’ll read all about it on someone’s Facebook page. They will trash products, companies, churches and friends. Character is assassinated. Reputations destroyed. Mean and hostile things are said that shouldn’t be. There is no overcoming evil with good here.

Mistreatment. Unfairness. Turning the cheek. Doing good rather than evil. Those thoughts do not sit well in our times. They never have. Instead of storming the castle with a gang of protesters, demanding that change take place, God’s people take an alternate route. They follow Christ. The Lord who uttered no threats. The Lord, who when reviled, didn’t speak back. The Lord, who could have called down thousands of angels, didn’t. Vindicated by God, triumphant in the end, sitting in Heaven, that is the one we follow.

These words don’t fit well today. Mobs roam the streets because they feel the police are too aggressive. Court houses are packed with angry protestors, because clerks refuse to grant same-sex marriage licenses. Anger. Demands. Protests. A lot of bad words. A lot of ugly talk. A lot of threats. A lot of evil. A lot of being overcome by evil. It’s easy to jump right in the middle of these things and be a part of the problem.

Finding good…doing good—that’s Heaven’s call for us.

Roger