Do Good

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. ~ Romans 12:21 (NLT)

I was scrolling through the channel guide on my TV the other night and saw a familiar movie. It’s one I’ve seen several times, but can only stomach watching it maybe every 5-10 years. It’s called Schindler’s List. If you’ve seen it, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t here’s a quick summary. Oskar Schindler was a German industrialist during World War II (he owned a lot of factories and made stuff for the army). When he found out that the Nazis were planning on exterminating the Jews, he began bringing them into his factories as indentured servants (basically slaves). As the war was coming to a close, the Nazis came for his Jews, so Schindler, who was very wealthy, began to give enormous bribes to the Nazi officers in an attempt to keep his Jews safe. By the end of the war, he had spent his entire fortune protecting them. Though he made them work hard in his factories, he saved over 1,200 Jews from certain death in the Nazi concentration camps. (You can read more about Oskar Schindler here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Schindler)

The Apostle Paul knew a lot about evil. He once decided his calling in life was to kill all Christians. But, God caused something inside of him to click. So, instead of killing them, he became their greatest missionary. Why? Because we aren’t supposed to serve evil. We are supposed to show the goodness of God. Paul wrote our verse today, which reads, “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” In other words, stand up for what is right. Do what is right, even in the face of evil, and let the love of God win the day.

Maybe you won’t be put in a situation where you can save thousands of people from certain death (or maybe you will). But, to those who you can influence, those who are in your sphere of influence, those who are near, you can defeat the evil in their lives by showing them goodness. You can show them that someone cares. You can be the difference.

Today, and every day, don’t let evil win. Conquer it by doing good. Pray that God will use you to help those who are hopeless. Pray that He will give you the resources to provide for others. Pray that He will give you the opportunity to share the love of God, which is found in our Savior, Jesus Christ. Pray that He will give you the courage to follow through.