Turn from Evil and Do Good

These days we hear almost every day the news about violent and cruel crimes such as killing others without hesitation because of a misunderstanding or an argument over something trivial.

The Bible teaches us to turn from evil and do good. If we have even the tiniest bit of evil in our hearts, we need to remove it all and pay more attention to God’s teachings in our everyday lives, as the children of heaven. Let us get rid of all anger, jealousy and hate from our hearts and have the heart of God full of love. Now, let’s take time to think about what God’s will is for us, His children, who are living in this age.

An age of anguish where egoism, mammonism, and hedonism prevail everywhere

Now we are hearing lots of news about accidents and incidents; some people get so enraged by substandard drivers that they deliberately block their path while driving to retaliate against them, and sometimes this causes serious accidents that can even result in death; some hold on to grudges over trivial matters and cruelly injure or kill people around them. This terrible news, which we could not have even imagined before, is now being reported almost every day.

So, it is frequently said nowadays that humans are the scariest creatures. Not only young people but even the elderly, who used to be regarded as symbols of gentleness and kindness, are now often getting involved in criminal incidents and some cases are even being reported through the media. Some people even say they are afraid to drink a glass of water when they go to the countryside. The wall of fear and distrust among people is growing thicker and higher in their hearts. This is the reality of our modern society.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 2 Ti 3:1–5

The Bible foresaw and prophesied there would be terrible times because of such things in the last days. Just as prophesied in the Bible, many people nowadays love money, commit the immoral act of disobeying their parents, and seek their own pleasures.

All the violent crimes that are occurring now arise from misunderstandings, distrust, hate, jealousy, and all other evil feelings. A false sense of superiority or inferiority and a sense of relative deprivation that makes people feel they are lagging behind or inadequate compared to others—these feelings provoke them into jealousy and rage, and they accumulate hate towards the people around them even over a trivial argument; since they have such negative feelings, they explode over the smallest things and even do the wickedest of things to their neighbors unhesitatingly. This is the face of this generation.

Turn from evil and do good

The ultimate end of the wicked is destruction. Their evil deeds spoil their own future as well as the future of others. They also make many people including their own family and other people’s families miserable.

Although people in the world love only themselves and they are conceited and arrogant, as lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, we must not conform to the pattern of this world but abide in God’s teachings (Ro 12:2). God always teaches and guides us in truth and righteousness, and reminds us to do His good, pleasing and perfect will.

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the L ORD ; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace. The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming . . . Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever . . . Wait for the LORD and keep his way . . . Ps 37:3–34

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles . . . A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned . . . Ps 34:14–22

Just as parents want their children not to fall into evil ways, God wants us to turn from evil and do good. So, God tells us the wisdom to avoid what is evil and cling to what is good, through the Bible written by the prophets who were inspired by the Holy Spirit: “Trust in God and do good all the time,” “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath,” “Seek peace and pursue it,” and much more.

Give glory to God with a good conscience and good deeds

We should not only study God’s teachings in the Bible but also keep them deep in our hearts and put them into practice. God’s people are the ones who glorify God through their good deeds as well as keep God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus (Rev 14:12).

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 1 Pe 2:11–12

The wicked who hinder the truth are trying to find fault with God’s people to slander them, even if it is very small. That’s why the Bible says, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God in the day he visits us.” We, people of Zion, must remember these words and do good deeds all the time according to God’s will, wherever we are—whether at home or in the neighborhood or in Zion the city of truth.

For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord . . . keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 1 Pe 3:10–17

Here, the Bible also says that we must turn from evil and do good. It also tells us to keep our tongues from evil and our lips from deceitful speech—to speak good things—and also to do good with a clear conscience.

If we view other people favorably, they all look good. However, if we have a distorted view of others, it causes misunderstanding and ends up spoiling their future as well as our own. Many people lose their temper easily, and their accumulated jealousy and hate cause misunderstandings. In this age of violence, we should lead the world with good hearts and good deeds as God’s children.

The Bride’s fine linen represents the righteous acts of God’s holy people

Everything that happens to us is in accordance with God’s will. No matter what situation we are in, we must always be joyful and give thanks in everything, not forgetting that God will bless us in the end.

When you encounter unwanted situations, pray to God instead of doing as you please. Whenever we face a problem or difficulty, we need to ask God for wisdom through prayer so that we can deal with it properly.

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Th 5:15–18

God tells us not to pay back evil for evil to anyone but always pursue what is good for each other and for everyone else, and teaches us the practical ways to do so, as follows: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.”

God also tells us to avoid every kind of evil (1 Th 5:22). We should not accumulate hate, nor should we be conceited or jealous of one another, whether we are doing better or worse than others. What if we tolerate all kinds of evil and allow it to accumulate in us, instead of driving it out? Although the seed of evil is small at first, it will grow bigger and bigger and bring about self-destruction.

Those who have just entered Zion—the city of truth—with many worldly impurities must change themselves by removing their rough edges and bad habits, and those who have entered Zion earlier need to help the new comers correct themselves by setting a good example for them. God has repeatedly told us to live good lives and to seek peace. All these teachings contain God’s will for us, His children, to be born again as the holy and godly people who glorify God.

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Rev 19:7–8

God has allowed our righteous acts to become ornaments for the fine linen of the Bride. What if the Bride were clothed with our wrong behaviors? Her fine linen would not be clean but dirty.

As we are living in this sinful world, we encounter many difficulties, and sometimes we are stressed and troubled while interacting with one another so that we can be refined. If we accumulate even a little bit of evil during this process, it will cause quarrels among us; quarrels will bring forth hate, and hate will stir up complaints. These ungracious things will occur successively. Through the words of God, we must avoid every kind of evil and do good, so that each of us can become a strand of the fine linen of Jerusalem our Heavenly Mother who is the Bride.

Let’s encourage one another toward love and good deeds with faith every day

God calls us the salt and light of the world (Mt 5:13–16). As God’s faithful children, we should be the salt and light of the world through our good deeds.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Heb 10:24–25

The Bible tells us to be considerate of one another. This implies that we should take good care of God’s flock. As we see the glorious day of God approaching, let us encourage one another all the more to love each other and to do good deeds, taking better care of one another. If we have evil things in our hearts—wicked thoughts and feelings such as hate, jealousy and anger as well as strife for any reason, we need to get rid of all the filth and evil from our hearts. Reminding ourselves again that every word of God guides us along the path we must go, let us not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Ro 12:21).

In order to do so, we should be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. Being discontent and ungrateful causes complaints, quarrels and misunderstandings among us, and the misunderstandings lead to jealousy and hate, which provokes anger. The outburst of anger can even create an uncontrollable situation.

As the Bible tells us not to conform to the pattern of this world, we must not learn the ways of the world. Although the world is violent and wicked, Zion must be a warm, safe nest where we always behave in a godly manner and do what is good in God’s sight, being considerate of one another. God teaches us to turn from evil and do good all the time. Keeping this teaching of God deep in our hearts, let us always consider and encourage one another to love each other and to do good deeds, as the salt and light of the world.