Friday Evening Devotionals

 

 

Evil Is—Evil Does

Tom Barnard

 

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men

 loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”

(John 3:19 NIV)

 

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but

inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.”

(Matthew 7:15, 16 NIV)

 

“When life acknowledges no great imperatives, it comes under the cruelest

tyranny that it can ever know, the tyranny of the whim of the moment.”

---Halford E. Luccock, in Marching Off the Map (Harper & Brothers, 1952, p. 121)

 

Call them prophets or call them politicians. Some are true; some are false. Some are good; some are evil. They are definitely not all alike. In Matthew 7:13 Jesus spoke about narrow and wide gates. He said that those who enter through the wide gate and broad road will experience destruction, “and many enter through it.” But he also spoke about the small gate and narrow road that leads to life, “and only a few find it.” A choice is involved here. A person cannot choose to enter both the wide and the narrow gates.

 

In a few days, Americans will cast their votes for national and state initiatives, as well as for their leaders during the next cycle. With the explosion of media sources and the Internet, voters should know by now which candidates they believe are false, and which are true. If a candidate claims that “the wages of sin is boredom,” I will not be voting for that person. If someone declares that “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free,” I will seriously consider voting for that candidate.

 

For whom should you vote? You know that I can’t answer that. It’s your decision. There are too many candidates in too many states running for too many offices for me to tell you how to vote. But I can urge you to vote. Every Christian should do the research, learn what issues are at stake, and then vote.

 

Heavenly Father, I believe you are the sovereign of the Universe. I affirm with the psalmist David in Psalm 24, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” You own it all, Lord, and you own us as well. But you won’t be voting. We will. We are your servants, and we want to be responsible citizens. Grant to us discernment as we look forward to the elections on Tuesday. Spare us from falling under “the tyranny of the whim of the moment.” God bless America. Amen.