In Romans 12:21 I read, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (NIV)
There’s nothing more counter-cultural in the world today than responding to evil with good. And because it’s so counter-cultural, it can be one of the hardest things to do.
When there’s a bully trying to make trouble in my life, I need to respond positively. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21 NIV).
It’s a step of faith. Everything in me wants to overcome evil with evil and fight darkness with more darkness. That’s what the world tells and teaches me to do: Fight dirty. That’s why it takes faith to go against what my flesh and culture are telling me to do and instead trust in God and respond to darkness with his light.
I fight darkness with light, hatred with love, and unkindness with kindness. I don’t let evil overcome me. I overcome evil with good.
It's tough to do. But it gets even tougher as Jesus also tells me to: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44 NIV).
Is that easy? No. Is it unusual? It is a choice. It’s my choice to be better than the bully. Choosing light over darkness means walking the way of Jesus. And Jesus wouldn’t just walk away from a fight and forget. He would lay down his life if that’s what he needed to do to show how much he loves someone, and that’s exactly what he did.
God doesn’t want me to retaliate. He wants me to do good. He wants me to show love to even the hardest hearts by praying for them and asking God to give them hearts like his. Jesus gave us the greatest example of responding in love and praying for enemies. When I follow his example, I’m going to stand out in a world where everyone thinks of themselves first.
Taking the step of faith to overcome evil with good will not always be easy, but it will make me a powerful witness for Jesus.
In summary, do not be overcome by evil, rather overcome evil with good. There’s nothing more counter-cultural than responding to evil with good. It can be one of the hardest things to do. When trouble comes, I need to take a step of faith to respond positively. However, everything in me wants to overcome evil with evil and fight darkness with more darkness. I fight darkness with light, hatred with love, and unkindness with kindness. It gets even tougher as Jesus also tells me to: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. It’s my choice to be better than the bully. Choosing light over darkness means walking the way of Jesus, and Jesus would lay down his life if that’s what he needed to do to show how much he loves someone, and is exactly what he did. God doesn’t want me to retaliate. He wants me to do good. He wants me to show love to even the hardest hearts by praying for them and asking God to give them hearts like his. Jesus provided me with the greatest example. When I follow his example, I’m going to stand out in a world where everyone thinks of themselves first. Taking the step of faith to overcome evil with good will not always be easy, but it will make me a powerful witness for Jesus.
Changing my heart for those who have wronged or overlooked me is a key learning from today’s study. It’s much easier to fight fire with fire than it is to be a cool and refreshing breeze. I need not worry about getting even as God will settle the score. My role is to be like Jesus and be an example of a life that follows him. Father, I ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind this when I face situations such as these so that I can respond in line with how you want me to. I ask you for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership and my interactions with others. I pray these things through your Son Jesus’ name, Amen.
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