Evil

Have mercy on me, O God…I have done what is evil in your sight (Psalm 51:1, 4).

God says that we are evil. God says that we are sinners who deserve His punishment. But in my experience, very few people think of themselves as evil. When we think of evil, we picture a villain, someone who must be stopped at all costs. We think of people like Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin or Osama bin Laden. We think of serial rapists and mass murderers. We think of people who take pleasure in causing pain, or are such complete psychopaths that they cannot relate to another person’s suffering.

Sadly, you and I are evil too—maybe not as blatantly evil as some, but it’s just a matter of scale.

Some of the worst tyrants in history were capable of great cruelty. Yet they did not think of themselves as evil. Hitler was trying to put the best people in charge of the world—pure blooded Germans. Stalin believed that he was surrounded by enemies, so he had to crush all opposition. Bin Laden thinks that westerners are morally corrupt, and a danger to all right-thinking Muslims—killing us will make the world a better place.

What about you? Are you willing to spread nasty gossip, if you think that someone needs to be taken down a peg? Are you willing to tell a lie in order to protect a loved one from getting hurt? Are you able to make life difficult for another person and not feel guilty about your actions? Do you believe that sometimes the ends justify the means? If you do, welcome to the brotherhood of evil.

Some criminals get a thrill from scaring or hurting their victims. What about you? Did you ever pull the wings from a fly? Do you get excited watching a fight break out during a sporting event? Do you love video games that let you shoot down enemies or blow things up? Do you enjoy watching reality shows where people are humiliated or squirm with discomfort? If you do, congratulations—you’re a villain.

We are all evil. We act without considering the feelings of others. We get a thrill from chaos and destruction. We all need forgiveness. Thank God that Jesus died for sinners—sinners like you and me.