Overcoming Evil

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.                                                 Romans 12:21

I saw a client recently who was a victim of serious emotional and financial abuse from her husband. She was berated and abused by this husband whom she recently left. The damage persists however. He had taken away her self-worth, manipulated her weaknesses, and ended up leaving her for another victim.

My client understands her part in this- all too well. She wonders how she could have been taken in by him. She wonders how there can be people in this world who would do such a thing to another person that they said they loved. She is hurt and confused.

Sadly, we see this in the counseling world. People who are broken by the selfishness and narcissism of others. The good news is, she is starting to heal. Her young son has been a comfort to her, but she feels that he should not be the comforter- she should be comforting him. True statement, but I pointed out that she had raised a son who will be a comforter, one who respects women and one who will treat them well when he is older.

The presence of evil in the world is indeed a puzzle. We don’t like to think about it. In the meantime, we go about trying our best to love one another as Jesus told us to do. We may not understand evil, but we do not need to understand it to overcome it.  

Prayer: Lord, you are the Comforter we can count on, Amen