Why All the Evil?
Recently we have been saddened by the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen fourth graders and two teachers were gunned down by an 18 year old. I read Monday morning that there was a shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where at least six people were injured. We have to ask the question, Why? Why do people do the things that they do? If I had the answer to that, I could probably help a lot of people.
When I think about this evil, Satan comes to my mind immediately. Every evil thing that takes place in our world can be attributed to the one who wants to rule this world. Jesus described him this way in John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (NASB)
Later, Jesus would say, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” (John 12:31) And later he stated, “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;” (John 14:30). Did you notice that he is described as the ruler of this world? Yes, Satan, the devil, is behind all the evil in the world. He is opposed to the Almighty God in heaven and has been defeated by Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, Satan had to be happy, excited, ecstatic even. When Jesus rose out of that tomb on the third day, Satan knew he had lost. But it hasn’t kept him from destroying the minds of people to influence them to do evil.
It seems the further we get from our God, the more evil the world gets. We are not allowed to pray in schools; it doesn’t bother some people to kill the unborn children in a cruel and evil way. We pay more attention to social media than we do the Bible or biblical things. I’m sure you can think of some more things to add to this list.
The God that we serve is compassionate, forgiving, patient, and all of this is based upon His love for His creation. II Peter 3:9 informs us, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
Folks, let’s make sure we are serving God. Let’s make sure He is the most important thing in our lives. Let’s pray that he will heal the families that are hurting and our world. Read the Bible to see what He desires for your life and how you are to live it. Only when we turn to Him will we have the peace and satisfaction that we need in this life. Jesus overcame evil, and so can we.