Fear No Evil

by Gray Graham

Psalm 23:4 King James Version

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

Many of us know this verse from the Bible very well. It is probably one of the first Bible verses that you learned in church. It’s message is to always trust in God no matter what your situation in life is at the moment. Today many of us have forgotten the simple message to always trust in God.

Now I am not going to tell you to never be afraid. It is very human to be afraid. It is actually dangerous not to be afraid. When we have no fear then we tend to do things that will place us in danger. We take risks that may lead to bad things happening to us. Fear keeps us cautious and it keeps us safe.

Fear also cripples us. When we are afraid we tend to pick the path that will give us the least amount of trouble. It takes a certain level of courage to put yourself in danger especially when you know that not doing so will mean that you will be unharmed. 

Many people choose to be safe over confronting evil. I would even say most people choose to stay safe instead of confronting evil. Most of the time it only takes a simple threat to quiet any opposition to an evil deed. We see this take place time and again in everyday life.

Today we face many evils in the world. These evils are nothing new. There have always been and there will always be evil people. Humans have a thirst for power and anything that may be a threat to that power is something that they will eliminate. In some respects we are more civilized today than in the past. In other ways we are more savage and cruel. It is all just a matter of prospective I suppose. 

But what does one do when the evil is close to home? When the people that are trying to do us harm are  family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers how do we deal with them? What do we do if they are harming others but not us? Do we turn a blind eye and stay silent? 

It is hard to do the right thing. It is even harder to do the right thing all the time. There will always be situations in life where we pick our battles so that we can live to fight another day. It is one of the things that is difficult about life. 

Even though it may be difficult it is important that we stand against wicked behavior in our everyday lives. We should never shrink in the face of people that engaged in foul, vile behavior. We should never ignore their actions. We should never make excuses for their sins. We should never try to justify the harm they do. We should do all in our power to confront their evil deeds.

Far too many people have gotten accustomed to running away and hiding from evil. Too often we would rather cry and sob in a corner rather than face the hateful people hurting us. We have to understand that just wishing something to change does not make it change. While it takes a lot of courage to face evil, it takes so much more to turn away from evil. For most it is nigh impossible. 

This is why  it is so important that good people take action, both big and small to confront destructive behavior in our lives. Bad behavior left unchecked simply grows into larger hateful actions. History has example after example of people ignoring a small sin only to be faced with a larger evil that they could have prevented.

It is up to us in love to make sure evil never takes root in our lives. You don’t have to wage a war against all the evil in the world in order to do good. Just addressing the evil that we face in ourselves and others in our everyday lives will have a great impact on the world. 

We must have the courage to confront our parents, spouses, children, family, and friends when they are doing something that is wrong. We can not remain silent just to maintain some false sense of peace because we love them. We much encourage them to turn away from their wicked ways. Can never fear losing a love one that is lost more than doing what is right. We must remain vigilant in our courage and strength and never fear evil no matter where it lies.