Catalyst

Evil is at work everywhere.

I just read a blog about a woman whose daughter was being bullied at school. This mother was then bullied by the bully momma and daddy at a school function. The tirade that spewed from the offenders was venomous and unwarranted. The comments from the blog readers were supportive, some funny, but many ejected vile judgment toward the bully momma, revealing the evil in residence in their own hearts.

Confrontation, false accusations, evil incarnate raises its ugly head periodically in our lives. But the twist for me is how it is also a mirror into my heart and the hearts of those affected by its scaly reach.

Evil is a catalyst for change, a mirror for revelation.

When a confrontation gets personal, I often react in a spirit of judgment, thereby resisting the opportunity for truth to surface, especially if I feel justified in condemning the one through whom the evil comes, yes, even when it comes through me.

But we are all instruments in God's hands, used to reveal Him. Nothing is wasted or without purpose. When I stop resisting (judging) and allow Him to lead me into His rest, I am free from prejudice and able to receive what He intends to reveal.

So the bully momma, though justifiably spanked by the authorities (there's more to the story than I'll go into here), will have consequences for her actions and perhaps her own opportunity for change. The blogger maintained a degree of grace under fire by not responding to personal attacks but following through on necessary actions to protect the children involved. Lurkers of her blogsite responded in kind on their take of the situation, myself included, mirroring our reactions to evil.

But key in the event, the catalyst that provoked change, was the evil first manifest. The trajectories of everyone's lives were affected, mine also, because it shows me in a real life situation that evil doesn't always result in evil but often is a necessary ingredient to healing.

Who could've seen that coming, the advantages of darkness? God, perhaps?