We Are The Evil

We Are The Evil
There is a narrative that began the moment Adam and Eve believed the lie of Satan and disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. The fruit they ate did not make them unrighteous. The disobedience was sin and sin entered their hearts and thus the heart of every person after them. Their natures changed when they made that choice and thus the nature of every person after them. 

We are the Evil.

Skin color is not the evil.

A uniform and badge are not the evil.

Money is not the evil.

A raised fist is not the evil.

A movement is not the evil.

We are the evil. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it? 

Every. single. person has a heart set on sin and wickedness. It is only the blood of Jesus Christ that offers forgiveness and washes this heart clean. It is only by turning away from this sin and believing in Jesus that we are afforded the luxury of Jesus' righteousness being counted as our own. If then, we have received this luxury, will we not afford grace and peace to others, especially to those created in the image of the Creator---which is every person ever created?

Because I know that my heart is deceitful above all things, I know that on any given day, I can give in to the sinful desires of my heart which include, but are not limited to, prejudice, covetousness, bitterness, envy, quarreling, selfishness, etc. My profession and position do not remove these things from my heart. The blood of Jesus overcomes them. I battle them daily, except for when I don't and then they show their ugly face in my impatience, haughtiness, snippety attitude, sullen expression, and lack of compassion.

I am the evil.
But I am redeemed and I do not have to live in the evil. My days can be more than giving myself over to my flesh. But I must remember as I experience my life in this America that others like me are fighting the same battle with their flesh and sometimes, like me, they lose. For them, I must have grace. Still others are not like me and aren't fighting their flesh at all or even acknowledging it exists. For them, I must have grace and the Word of Truth ready.

No, a badge does not make one evil.
The color of one's skin does make one evil.
But a badge does not mean an absence of a sin nature and oppression does not equal righteousness.

Romans 12:20-21: "On the contrary, 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."