Evil vs. Good

 

Scripture and Reflection: The Illusion of Evil and the Peace of the Righteous
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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First Reading
Micah 2:1–5
"Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil upon their beds!
When the morning dawns, they accomplish it because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and seize them; houses, and take them away. They oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.
Therefore thus says the Lord: 'Behold, I am devising against this family a disaster from which you cannot remove your necks; and you shall no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity... When the Lord again apportions the land among His people, they shall have no share in it.'"

The Word of the Lord.

Key Points

• God sees injustice even when people appear to prosper.

• Evil begins in the heart before it becomes an action.

• Those who exploit others may seem powerful, but God's justice is certain.

• Pride eventually gives way to humiliation.

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Gospel
Matthew 12:14–21

"The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus, how to destroy Him. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, ordering them not to make Him known. This fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

'Behold, My servant whom I have chosen, My beloved with whom My soul is well pleased. I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench, until He brings justice to victory. And in His name the Gentiles will hope.'"

The Gospel of the Lord.

Key Points

• Jesus responds to hatred with mercy, not retaliation.

• God's justice is patient rather than impulsive.

• Christ strengthens the weak instead of crushing them.

• Our hope rests in Jesus, not in earthly justice alone.

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Reflection
One of the great temptations in life is believing that people who do evil are happy.
We see dishonest and wicked people become wealthy, manipulators seem successful, and those who hurt others often appear to live without consequences. At these times, we might ask:

• Why do good people suffer?

• Why aren't the wicked punished?

• Why does God allow this?
  

Today's readings challenge that way of thinking. We are called to understand that the "triumph" of the wicked is short-lived, while the reward of the Christian who suffers from their wickedness is everlasting. (see Matthew 13:24-30)

Evil Is Its Own Prison

Someone once observed:

"The greatest punishment for those who do evil is that they become incapable of stopping."

There is profound truth in that.

People who continually lie, manipulate, cheat, harm or exploit others are not becoming freer — they are enslaved.

Sin creates habits of sin.... Eventually the person no longer enjoys doing evil; they simply cannot imagine living any other way. They are in a loop that they don't escape on their own.

They lose:

• inner peace

• genuine joy

• the ability to trust

• the capacity to truly love

Their outward sappearance of uccess, often hides an inward emptiness.
That is already a terrible punishment.

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Stop Comparing Your Life to Theirs

Unfortunately we tend to see ourselves in comparison to others. It is our human nature. And when suffering comes, we find ourselves asking:

"Why am I struggling, why has this happened to me - while people who do wrong seem to prosper?"

This is dangerous, because such comparisons breed:

• anger

• resentment

• discouragement

• despair

The Gospel invites us to keep our eyes on Christ—not on our neighbor. You cannot know what happens on their side of the river....and often enough, we learn that what happens to them is worse than what we endure.
What you must do is embrace your journey as your own. God has not asked you to evaluate everyone else's life....they will reap what they have sown. What God asks you to do is remain faithful in your life.

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God Values Peace More Than Success

The world admires:

• wealth

• fame

• influence

• power

But these human things do not guarantee happiness. They seem to, yes, because we are drowning in worldy measures of success. We cannot escape them without serious effort.
Yet, when we look, many people who appear to have everything, materially, possess little interior peace. We have movies, "true crime" stories, tell-all exposé shows, and a 24/7 flood of news all telling us that very thing.
Then, we ignore it, anyway, and picture ourselves having what they have.
We want, "comfort and easy living" (even at the expense of others) - forgetting that the greatest earthly blessing won't be a life filled with riches—but a heart at rest before God.
Sure, living well is a blessing. But a quiet conscience before God is ultimately worth more than public success. And THAT is the most important part of living well.

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The Danger of Habitual Sin

Consider someone who repeatedly deceives others in relationships. They move from one relationship to another, betraying trust again and again. From the outside, they may appear to enjoy life's pleasures. We might even create the illusion that their way of living is something to copy.

But eventually we discover:

• they cannot truly love

• they cannot receive love

• every person is just someone to use and cast aside

• every relationship becomes another empty loop in this cycle

Their greatest loss is not the relationships they destroy. That is bad enough. But the greatest loss to all is the person they themselves became.
Sin ultimately empties the sinner.

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Practical Lessons

• Do not envy those who seem to prosper through evil: misdoing, exploitation, crime, abuse, etc.

• Resist the temptation to compare your life with others.

• Understand that difficulties, problems and suffering are situations that happen in life, without assuming it is God's punishment. Rather, God often chooses such things to perfect his elect. It is only on a battlefield that a true soldier can be proved.

• Guard your heart against bitterness.

• Choose honesty - even when dishonesty appears easier.

• Seek to cultivate love and peace, rather than power.

• Cultivate also humility and gentleness—the virtues Christ Himself embodied.

• Be patient with the wrongdoer who makes our spiritual progress difficult. If we patiently bear the injuries they inflict on us, they unwittingly help us be better Christians.

• God is merciful toward sinners when they change - choosing to do good for them might be the path to that change. 

• Make doing good your daily habit, before evil becomes someone else's.

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Final Thought

The world mistakes pleasure for happiness. Scripture teaches something deeper:

The person who continually chooses evil loses the very ability to experience lasting peace. The righteous may endure hard times, difficult situations, even suffering for a time.
But then, so too do the wicked. Sickness, for example, does not discriminate... hospital beds hold the wicked as well as the good.

So it is with the Christian. No bad person can take his faith, but the influence of evil and sinners can make it more difficult to persevere. 
But the person who chooses good over wickedness possesses something the wicked cannot buy, steal, or fake:

A peaceful conscience, a joyful heart, and the hope that comes from walking with God.

As St. Paul exhorts us:

"Let us never grow tired of doing good." (Galatians 6:9)

We must try to imitate the patience God shows in his dealings with sinners. While we must not approve of their evil deeds, or their sins, we must still look on them as our brothers and do all in our power to put them back on the right road to heaven.
We can do this by good example, and by fervent prayer for their conversion.
Is this easy? Probably not. But we can be certain that God will give us the necessary grace and strength to subdue our natural weakness and aversion, if we try to act with charity and true brotherly interest toward our erring fellowmen.
By acting thus, we will not only be helping a weak brother on the rugged road to heaven, we will also be making doubly sure of our own arrival there, for God will never be outdone in generosity.

May God grant us the grace to do the greatest good we can, to remain humble, and to live with peace—even just our share of it — knowing that ultimate happiness is not found in earthly “success” but in a heart that belongs to Christ.