It Is Good That Evil Exists
In last week’s article, I asked you to think on this statement: “It is good that there is evil.” The existence of evil is a mind-boggling concept for any thinking person whether a believer in God or an atheist. Christians fumble with it trying to explain how a good God could allow it while at the same time being sovereign and with absolute power to prevent it. The theological discipline that attempts to explain this conundrum and to justify God is called theodicy. We are too often set back on our heels when confronted with savvy atheists who believe they have exposed a massive hole in the consistency of believing in God, or at least the God of the Bible. Though we may not be able to provide a convincing argument for them, we ought not to think they have won the day by exploiting a perceived incompatibility in Christian doctrine. They are faced with their own unsolvable riddle—what is the basis and explanation of moral good? This cannot exist without God who is the objective standard.
My purpose today is not to plunge us into this argument. I doubt whether you or I are adequately prepared to tackle the philosophical aspects of this topic, and indeed, the best minds throughout the centuries have never adequately settled its issues. While caught on the horns of an unexplainable dilemma, some choose to deny the existence of either good or evil as if they are Swiss philosophical neutrals. It is much easier to deny good than evil. We might be indifferent towards acts of kindness, but we are surely absurdly neutral towards senseless acts of violence.
We wrestle with evil and whether we understand God’s reason to allow it to exist, we must conclude God’s decision was righteous, just, holy, and good. He acts in no other ways. His decision is right because He made it. If we approach evil this way knowing that God will protect and perfect us through it, we will accept it as the best way forward to make us like Him and thus the best we can be. Evil itself does not do this, but our righteous, obedient response to it does.
This is an appropriate time to consider this question since the progression of evil in our country is quickly nearing the point that it will destroy the life American Christians have known for more than 2 ½ centuries. Destruction of basic religious freedoms are no longer theoretical. In 2015, Supreme Court justices asked if same sex marriage would eventually erode religious freedom. Government administration advocates arguing for it said it would. At that time, a more liberal court decided the erosion is acceptable. Because of this, the government pushes harder at the limits to ensure every evil succeeds.
We know that evil is a powerful force with ability to inflict pain and suffering that task us to our personal limits. It does not exist by itself but is perpetrated upon us by evil beings that influence the mind and toy with our natural depravity. Each of us is aware of our own propensities and our helplessness against it. We require supernatural help to resist evil and flee from it. Since this is an unceasing battle, each encounter with evil forces us back to God. In this we reach a modicum of understanding of at least one reason God permits it. We are not troubled by good and thus a perfect life in this world would not cause us to depend on God. It is good that there is evil because evil strengthens our faith in the only one who can help us overcome it. It is good there is evil because we are forced to communicate with God to plead for the power of His Holy Spirit. It is good there is evil so that we are brought near to God to enjoy fellowship that we would not so readily seek if not for the overwhelming need to seek contentment that only righteousness can bring.
While we do not seek evil that a seemingly greater good may come (Romans 6:1), we are not frightened by the prospects it will be too debilitating for us to handle. Sometimes it seems this way when the evil morass of this culture makes us feel like the disciples in the storm on Galilee. We shall not be overcome, and God will show His power as He always does. We will never be free from threats because in God’s providence, it is good that evil exists.
Pastor V. Mark Smith