The Knowledge of Evil.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”   Philippians 4:8


I’ve thought about this verse a lot lately. When I have negative thoughts, I usually praise and thank God out loud and the thoughts go away. I don’t let myself dwell on sad or bad thoughts.


Last week, I came across a review on a new book about the Circus and the arenas in ancient Rome. I’m interested in history, so I began reading the review. They quoted the author on some of the different games and contests that were celebrated. The games became so popular that there was pressure on the administrator to show the people something new and more spectacular each time.


As I read about the contests and killings, I thought, “I should stop reading this. It is going to get worse.” But no, I did not stop reading until I came upon something so horrible, so unspeakable, that it took my breath away that men would do such things to each other. And these things took place a hundred years before Jesus was born. The games were corrupt almost immediately.


The humans they used in these games were prisoners, slaves or captives of war. Their lives meant nothing to the ones who put on the games and probably little to the common Roman who went to the games. Their suffering and humiliation was sport. 


The Romans got the idea for having games after a victory from the Greeks. But I’m pretty sure the Greeks did not torture and slaughter people and animals in their games. Reading those few paragraphs made me realize why Rome’s enemies hated her.


But the moral of my story isn’t about the Romans, it is about me. I was curious and so I read on and on. Afterwards, I felt sick and had images in my mind that will always be there. I was like Eve, who wanted to know if the fruit would maker her smarter. The Knowledge of Good and Evil. That was the name of the tree. She had no knowledge of evil, and I guess she felt if God had the knowledge then she should have it too.


But the knowledge of the evil going on in this world is depressing and incredibly heavy. We aren’t meant to carry that heavy load. I do think though, that we should fight against evil, like human trafficking. If we didn’t know it was going on, how could we help those who are caught in slavery?


I have heard about ministries that help the children who are kidnapped into the sex trade. Joyce Meyer Ministries helps those children and there are many other Christians in this work. What a blessing they are!


There are things I have seen in newspapers I wish I had never seen. There are movies and TV shows I wish I had never seen. The depths to which sin goes is as deep as the ocean. These horrors of evil we have to give to God to carry. We haven’t got the strength. 


And there is that Bible verse in Philippians. God wants us to think on that which is good and lovely. It is the best way to live, to have peace and love in our hearts. The more we think on God, read the Bible and pray, the more we will see the beauty of goodness. As we see that, we will admire God, who is goodness himself. When we contrast what he is like with evil deeds, we will worship him even more.


I used to like to read about politics and world events, but I noticed it made me feel angry and sad. I rarely read anything on those subjects now. There is nothing I can do about corrupt politicians, except vote for someone I think is good. I just want enough information to do that.


David wrote, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.”   Psalm 101:3      Good advice.

Telling God Alone.

In my last post I wrote about watching too much television with my mom and having a struggle with that. Of course, God came through and helped me. As I said, Mom told me she would like to play some computer games. Well, that is what she wants to do every night instead of watching TV. I’m so thankful to God. Now I have more time to listen to Christian podcasts, read books about God and to pray.

In one podcast, a man said something like, “If you were raised in a legalistic, fundamentalist religion and are now free of it, be grateful for your upbringing. You grew up knowing the Lord’s name.” I agree with him and have thought about that a lot.

My sisters and I used to be upset at our religious upbringing, but now I am grateful. Because of my parents and my church, I have always believed there is a God; I’ve always known he hears and sees me; I’ve always known there is eternal life for those who follow him. I may have been terrified of God and when I sinned I thought he would kill me with a bolt of lightening, but hey, it was a start! I’ve certainly never been tempted to be an atheist.

Something happened this week that showed me how good Joyce Meyer’s advice is on not telling people when you are hurt by someone. I thought about telling only my husband but I realized there would be no point in that. He couldn’t change anything and would also feel sad that I was sad.

I don’t want to say what this person did. It was someone in my family. When it happened, I felt like a knife went through my heart. So, I spent time talking with God about the situation. I thought about what Jesus would do. I think he would have felt hurt, but he would have just accepted what happened. That night I prayed God would take away the pain in my heart and when I woke in the morning the pain was totally gone.

That day, another family member came over and talked with me about what happened. I didn’t bring it up, but she knew about it. What she said made me feel so much better. The situation was clarified and I could see there was no malice at all involved in it. That night we all went out to dinner and had a perfectly wonderful time together.

I love God’s way of dealing with our hurts. I love this way of not telling people I am sad etc. I know there are times we must confront people. Jesus said to go to those who hurt you and talk with them. I have done that before; sometimes it works out great, other times not so much. What I especially love is how God tells us not to spread these stories all over the place. We shouldn’t call our friends and tell them how horribly someone has treated us. We should go to God alone and he will help us.