The Problem of Evil

The Problem of Evil


“Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.  So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” (Matthew 13:24-30)


We must confront evil as a force within ourselves and as a force outside ourselves as well. It was Satan who entered Judas and caused him to betray Jesus with a kiss. People can be filled with evil and that is a fact with which we must contend. Some of us are more evil than others. Those who are evil to the highest degree give every intention of their thoughts and hearts to evil continually. No good can be found in those who are continually evil. Most of us have both good and evil and we must fight the good fight within ourselves to keep good in control since we were born with a sinful nature. Good remains stronger than evil when we put our faith in God. If we hate evil and persevere in faith God will bless us and protect us from the curse of evil.


God, creator of all, created both good and evil to use for His purpose. It is the Lord who turns the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. God can also allow our hearts to be hardened and permit us to stray from His ways. God can fill us with a distressing spirit that troubles us just as He can fill us with a peaceful spirit that provides a sense of security and well-being.

There are times that the Lord will permit us to act outside established traditions so that His will can be put into effect. Sometimes God will let certain desires to be put into our hearts to fulfill His purpose so we can be of one mind. It was the Lord at work when Samson went against established tradition and chose a wife from the Philistines. The Lord was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines who had dominion over Israel at that time and He found such an occasion when Samson married the Philistine woman.

God will permit a lying spirit to be put into our mouth if someone must be persuaded to act according to His will. It was the Lord who permitted a lying spirit to fill the mouths of Ahab’s prophets so that Ahab would fall at Ramoth Gilead so the Lord could avenge the blood of His servants at the hand of Jezebel. It was the Lord that permitted Simon to be delivered to Satan to be sifted as wheat so Simon could strengthen his brethren when he returned to the Lord.

The Lord allows Satan to have his way with us so we can learn the difference between what is good and what is evil when we are drawn away from Him by our own desires. God has given us free will because He wants us to love Him willingly and He wants us to willingly choose good over evil.

God does not permit evil to triumph over good indefinitely. Those who act with evil intention find joy for only a brief while. When confronted with evil we should stand firm in faith and not return evil for evil. When we are provoked, we should rise above the evil doer and wait on the Lord. We should choose our battles carefully and save our strength to fight the good fight. If we love what is good and hate what is evil the Lord will bless us with happiness.

We should be careful to discern between evil intention and careless human error so we do not attribute evil to folly. Better to give someone the benefit of the doubt until that person has proven to you time and again that his or her intentions are mostly evil. How evil is it really when someone cuts you off in traffic?  Is it really worth engaging in road rage putting you and others at risk of an accident? Better to take a deep breath and slow down. How evil is it really when someone cuts in line in front of you at the grocery store? You might feel like you want to give the person a verbal lashing but better to keep your peace and not make a public spectacle of yourself. How evil is it really if your spouse forgets to drop off your suit at the cleaners? Better to take care of it yourself than to put your marriage at risk by indignantly insisting that you are in the right and your spouse is in the wrong. How evil is it really if your child steals a candy bar from the corner store? Better to take the theft as an opportunity for a lesson and inform the child that the candy bar must be returned than to brandish the child forever as an evil doer.

What is crucial is that we are vigilant concerning our own intentions. We should continuously monitor our own thoughts and actions to make sure we are not acting and thinking from evil intention. The way to life eternal will never be found by those who choose evil rather than good. Troublemakers and liars only bring trouble onto themselves. God hates liars, murderers, the perverse, the proud and arrogant, those who devise and run to evil, and those who sow discord. God does not tolerate those who rage against Him. Evil doers die in the presence of God. We must guard against trusting in our own evil and avoid getting warped by our own wisdom and knowledge. We must never think that we are the only person who is important. God can cause us to fall if we slip back into evil. We must always remember that Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan not to propagate them and that in Him there is no sin.

We must also guard against those who would try to trick and deceive us. We must seek to live  righteously and avoid sinful living. If we live righteously as a servant of the Lord, we can rest assured that the Lord will condemn those who deceitfully rise up against us. We can only know that a spirit is of God if the spirit confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. If the spirit does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh then the spirit is not of God. Let us strive to grow as good seed during our time on earth so the good Lord will gather us into His barn at the time of His good harvest.