First Samuel 15:23 explains, “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” Divination is seeking knowledge by supernatural or demonic means. This sometimes involves idolatry, which is worshiping someone or something other than God as though it were God. The Bible is very plain about how God views both of these evils. What is evil? An act or thought that is morally reprehensible, sinful, and wicked. These arise from actual or imputed bad character or conduct by a person of evil reputation—a person who causes inferior acts, causing discomfort, repulsion, suffering, misfortune, and wrongdoing. An evil person is described as very wicked by nature and as taking pleasure in harming others. We are born dependent upon our parents and taught to love and respect them. At what point do we learn to cause actions against the base human desire to be comfortable and loved? Or can it be argued that people are born with a certain amount of inherent evil? Is there a natural conflict within us that allows our good behavior to be at odds with our need to abuse, rape, murder, and create evil?
It is written that on the fourth day, God created the sun, the moon, and the stars. Water, sky, and animals were made on the fifth day, and land, animals, and people were created on the sixth day. Many things have happened since the world was first created, including the entrance of sin into a perfect world. He put the universe together so that all things were in perfect balance, so the planets would not fly off into space; there was a perfect balance among land, sky, and water so that condensation would occur, and the perpetual cycle would continue forever. God created all good, and he created evil. In Isaiah 45:7, the Prophet tells us that God said, “I form the light and create the darkness, I make peace and create evil: I, the Lord, do all these things.” Another Prophet, Amos, affirms this idea in Amos 3:6: “If there is a calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?” It can be argued that God allowed evil to begin on the sixth day in the Garden with the creation of Man. One of the balances that we do not understand is why God created “Freewill.” Free will in man allows him to make good and bad choices. It should be argued that God gave man free will so that we would show our desire and have the ability to share His Love, Righteousness, and Divine Abilities. God did not want a species of mind-numb robots that had no choice. God allowed us to accept His love or to reject Him.
Clarence Larkin wrote “The Spirit World.” In his book, he explains evil by stating, “All of God’s creatures were created ‘free moral agents.” The question becomes, if God had made them otherwise, would they have been mere machines with no will of their own? To be a “free moral agent” implies that one has the power of “choice.” As long as Satan chose the “Will of God,” there was no “Evil” in the universe. Still, he fell the moment he chose to follow his own Will. By persuading others to follow him, he introduced “Evil” into the universe. This explanation sounds good, but if you look closely, Larkin does not explain “evil,” implying that God does not have the power to stop it. Everything was in good order until a few Angels rebelled and were cast out. We must remember that God allowed us to make our own choices. The Bible warns us that the Devil is always around to help us make bad decisions. First Corinthians 10:13 states, “No temptation that is not common to man has overtaken you. God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. Still, with the temptation, he will also provide a way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” First Peter 5:8 gives a warning, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” With this in mind, we should see that God wants us to be His partner. For the strong and Christian people, free will is a gift from God; for the vulnerable, weak, and confused, free will is the Devil’s number one tool. The best advice concerning why God created “free will” or why God did anything would probably be best answered by realizing it is in God’s hands, and that is all we need to know.
It can be argued that there are many types of evil; better said, there are many different examples. We have corruption in whatever form against God, it is evil in whatever form against other people or things, and then there is evil in whatever form against ourselves. Evil against God is described throughout the Bible, and God did not react favorably. We mentioned earlier that divination, arrogance, and worship of idols are attempts to show evil toward God. The first five of the Ten Commandments address avoiding evil toward God. The countless actions, thoughts, and statements described in the first five Commandments are considered evil toward God. Isaiah 5:20 gives a suitable warning, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” The following five Commandments describe evils directed toward others, and there are countless ways to show evil against others. Romans 12:21 strongly suggests, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Inherently evil folks show a lack of responsibility, enjoy the misfortune of others, are cruel to other people and animals, are dishonest, have no genuine remorse, and so on.
For someone to be evil toward others, they must intentionally want to harm by planning to commit a morally wrong action without justification. Evil people will try to manipulate others into circumstances that justify their evil actions and bend others to think in the same perverted way. It is easy for society to make statements like “only a sick or mentally ill person acts in that way.” Unfortunately, we associate with evil people daily in every aspect of our lives. Evil can be subdued and hidden until it is needed or desired by our villain. The last evil is the one we allow into our personal lives and how we cope with it, knowing that it is within us and will never completely disappear. Some forty or fifty years after the birth of Jesus, the Apostle Paul was battling the evils of the world and the personal evil he felt within. In Romans 7:15-19, Paul has trouble expressing his feelings, stating, “I do not understand what I do. I do not do what I want to do, but I do what I hate. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who does it, but it is a sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.” Romans 12:21 gives us the basic principle of avoiding evil in our lives: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”