“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” When the prophet Isaiah spoke those words 2700 years ago, it seems he was speaking directly to our generation… although history teaches us there were former generations who fit this description as well. I don’t have statistical proof, but it feels like our country is more confused than ever about good and evil.

Evil dominates media headlines… and unfortunately in some circles… is increasingly celebrated. Good usually gets less attention… and sadly, is increasingly mocked. More and more our culture calls evil good and good evil. Woe to us… we are in deep trouble.

When it seems like evil is winning, we can respond in several ways: Get angry and lash out… stick our heads in the sand and ignore it… give way to it… or decide to counter evil with good. Romans 12:21 tells us “Overcome evil with good.” (NIV). Here are a few ways we can do that:

Refuse to cave in
When evil parades itself in front of us every day, we can find ourselves asking “What’s the point anymore?” We wonder if our nation has crossed a line it will never revisit. And we think “Maybe it’s too late… evil has won and there is little we can do to reverse the trend.” So we decide to go with the flow. Can I encourage you to stand firm regarding what is good without being angry or judgmental? We overcome evil with good by understanding it’s always right to do the right thing, no matter what our culture says or does. Don’t cave in.

Regulate our appetite
Somebody coined the phrase “we are what we eat.” That’s true on many levels… physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s easy to allow our culture to shape our appetite. We’re inundated daily with images that try to take our minds where they shouldn’t go. We’re bombarded with negativity that fuels our anxiety. We overcome evil with good when we’re strict about what we feed on. Let’s spend more time feeding on God’s word and less time feeding on cable news.

Remain faithful where we’re planted
Obviously you and I can’t fix the problem of evil by ourselves. It’s too big. But we can positively influence our circles of influence… our workplace… our school… our neighborhood… our home. We overcome evil with good by determining… with God’s help… to make a constructive difference where we’re planted.

The unabashed assault on good will continue. Don’t allow darkness of evil to frustrate you or drown you in despair. Instead, let it motivate you to light a candle in your corner of the world.