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Our current world is so full of problems. There seems to be division, violence, and suffering of one kind or another. How does this affect our lives? Well, it makes for a community that is difficult to navigate. We are often no longer sure what values others hold, or whether they will communicate with us because of our values. It does not make for a society that is at peace with itself. I wonder what has contributed to the current situation. If you are a Christian, we know our Savior is with us, but even in Jesus’s ministry, he had to deal with evil. Evil comes from the human heart and from actions that corrupt what is good. Remember the scene in Genesis where the devil talks Eve into disobeying God. Eve had to make an active choice. She willfully disobeyed God’s command. This action set off a series of events. It is not only the sin of disobedience, but the desire to be like God, that the devil seduces Eve into Original sin. Original sin is the natural inclination toward selfishness inherent in human nature.

Evil, right from the start, is about taking us away from the good and making us think only for ourselves. In other words, we do not need God; we can direct our own lives. We make choices for ourselves alone. This is not the plan in Christian thinking. For a Christian who has given their life to Christ as our Savior, we try to follow the will of God in our lives.

How many times do we hear Jesus say, I have come to do the will of my Father? In our current culture, the individual will is supreme. Much like Eve, we want to be our own God. A selfish path that leads to violence, division, and suffering of the human spirit. Remember, evil is first found in the human heart.

Jesus, in his own time, ran into evil in human form. How many cures are there in scripture? There are around 13 named instances in which Jesus shows his authority over evil spirits and casts out demons. Evil is real, and it tricks souls away from goodness, into selfish choices. Evil seeks to sweet-talk us into selfishness as a path to real personhood. Goodness, God-filled life, on the other hand, always sees others, always thinks of others: “Love one and other as I have loved you.”

Bishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979), who was quite well known in the 1950s for his television show, Life is Worth Living. Said there are three things that manifest and destroy unity in community. First, violence; a breakdown of authority; second, a disruption of unity; the breaking up of families and churches; and division in public government. Lastly, the lack of shame, the rejection of objective truth, and the stripping away of human dignity. Does this sound familiar to the reader?

You recall the temptations of Jesus by the devil. Jesus has just been baptized by John and has gone into the desert for 40 days to pray; He is just about to begin His ministry.

Both Mark and Luke include this in their gospels. The devil comes and tempts Jesus with three temptations. The temptation of appetite, the temptation of testing God, and the temptation of worshipping power or idolatry. All Jesus answers: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Matthew 4:7). Jesus will dismiss Satan. ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.” (Matthew 4:10) The World, the Flesh, and the Devil, it does not take too much imagination to see all three of these concepts in our own world today. Evil and its lack of concern for others, redefining truth to fit a program that benefits a selfish view of life, failing to allow civil dialogue to occur. The violence of discord and the harm it brings to the innocent.

These are all selfish choices made by people to further their own interests or achieve power over others. They cause disunity, suspicion, and, in cases, violence that hurts the community. How do we as Christians live in these kinds of times where there is such upset and disunity? We have been given the assurance that God is with us; the phrase “Do not be afraid” appears some 70-100 times in scripture. Jesus says this often in the New Testament: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27). God never leaves us. Be assured, fellow Christians, evil prowls in the current culture seeking souls to listen to the language of want and selfishness. That can bring us to anxiety, despair, and loneliness. These issues are rampant in our current world that spawn violence, disunity, and idolatry. There is rest from the chaos and discouragement occurring in our world. Know there is refuge and grace for the asking. Peace amid chaos.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)