How to Always Overcome Evil

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Romans 12:21

 

Evil overcomes you because you allow it to.  Evil is inherently overcome by the simple presence of good just as light overcomes darkness by simply being light.  You can always overcome evil in two ways:  Refuse to be overcome by evil.  Choose to overcome evil with good (and with nothing else.)

 

REFUSE TO BE OVERCOME BY EVIL
This means you accept the truth about good and evil, light and darkness, wisdom and foolishness.  This is the truth: Good overcomes evil by simply being itself.  If we don't believe that God alone is good, as I said in this blog, then we don't believe in the power of inherent goodness to overcome evil by simply being itself. 

 

CHOOSE TO OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD (AND WITH NOTHING ELSE.)
Exchange the words in Romans 1:21.  Exchange the words "good and evil" with "patience and impatience," for example. 

 

"Do not be overcome by impatience, but overcome impatience with patience."  Imagine a patient store manager talking to an impatient customer at a grocery store.  She's in a hurry and disregarding everyone's life except her own.  She's on a schedule and she expects everyone one in the grocery store to be on her schedule as well.

 

The patient manager overcomes the impatient woman by simply being patient.  Not by sarcasm. Not by impatience.  Not my domination.  This is true whether the woman stops being impatient or not. In other words, the power of patience exposes the powerlessness of impatience.  Not by saying, "Hey everyone, look at how patient I am, and how impatient she is!  Aren't I powerful, and isn't she powerless?"  No.  The patient manager isn't trying to embarrass the impatient customer. He's simply being patient.  And when we see patience and impatience together, we see one naturally overcoming the other.

This is true of all the virtues and vices:

• Honor overcomes dishonor.
• Truth overcomes lies.
• Gentleness overcomes harshness.
• Respect overcomes disrespect.

The list goes on.

 

The way to always overcome evil is to believe the truth about good.  If you believe that good, in and of itself, inherently overcomes evil, then you will refuse to think evil can ever overcome good.  And you will overcome evil by simply doing good, whether the evil is removed or not.