Facing Folly And Evil With The Spirit's Wisdom预览

DAY FOUR: Run From Evil People  

Some people have a hard time thinking that a professing Christian can be evil, but the Bible is painfully pointed. For example, in Acts 5:3 Peter says of one church member, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…?”

Evil people do not cause harm unintentionally as fools do. Instead, evil people intentionally plot harm, scheme to bring pain and destruction, and feel vindicated in doing so because of their hurt, self-righteousness, or corrupt nature.

The way to respond to an evil person is with nothing—the exact opposite of our response to a wise person. Draw near to a wise person and run from an evil person. Give more information to a wise person, and no information to an evil person. Deal directly with a wise person, and let the cops and lawyers deal with the evil person.

A wise person can be influenced toward godliness, and a fool can perhaps be brought toward wisdom after they have sat in their mess for a while. But the evil person has to be considered hopeless apart from a dramatic intervention from God—one that does not involve you, because there is little to nothing you can do. An evil person might not be beyond God’s ability to help, but they are probably beyond your ability.

At this point you separate, protect yourself, and establish a definite ending to the relationship with no contact or information going forward.

Evil people live by the power of demonic forces to harass and harm. Because of their demonic empowerment, they are far more powerful when seeking to cause harm than they otherwise are in normal life. Evil people who move into ministry leadership become wolves who strike the shepherd in an effort to scatter the sheep. Evil people require a professional relationship with someone trained to deal wisely with their issues.