Wanderman in the Wilderness

God's word applied in the world.

Cheering for Evil?

“Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!” was shouted as the queen entered the Renaissance Fair on student day. Thousands of children eagerly awaited the jousting match that was framed as a “battle between good and evil.” As chance would have it, we were sitting on the side of the evil knight. It wasn’t our choice, of course; we just happened to sit where the sun wasn’t in our eyes. Nevertheless, we found ourselves being told to cheer for the evil knight! And if we didn’t cheer loud enough, Renaissance “cheer leaders” commanded that we cheer louder!

Of course, this was all for fun, but here are 3 observations from a jousting match:

1)    Most people just wanted to see the joust and didn’t care who was good or evil. This joust was merely for entertainment, but in life jousts happen every day between good and evil. Light and dark have always been divided in the bible (1 John 1:5) and we must decide which side we will cheer to victory;

2)    The evil knight was the bad guy. He was rude, he lied, and he cheated. Yet, we were supposed to cheer for him! The word of God tells us what is pleasing to the Lord, but so often in life we are encouraged to support causes that come into conflict with His plan. We are to do good (2 Thessalonians 3:13) and avoid every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22);

3)    Many kids didn’t seem to know who was going to win! The answer should have been obvious.  The evil knight had promised school would start at noon, there would be no more homework, and dessert would come first in every meal. There was no way he could win! And yet, there were disappointed children who were holding out hope for his fantasy promises. There is no question in scripture about which promises are reliable and who wins in the end (John 16:33).

As you go through this week, watch out for ways that the world is blurring the
differences between good and evil, cheering for evil, and trusting in false hope. Then give them an alternative. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life!

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