Don’t Be Evil
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. – Romans 12:9-12.
Google has been in the news recently with its refusal to provide the government with the record of searches performed by those using the Google search engine. Google as I have learned does have an admirable motto which is, “Don’t be evil.” The story has been told of a July 19, 2001 meeting held to try to find a way to fulfill the directive to communicate Google’s core values. There have always been informal rules in every organization such as “treat everyone with respect,” “be on time for meetings,” and etc. Paul Buchheit, an engineer at the meeting said as this was being brainstormed, that all of these things can be covered with “Don’t be evil.” The motto stuck. Of course, now Google must decide whom they want to please in the course of not doing evil. Whose definition of “evil” will they adopt?
A question for us as Christians is whether not being evil is enough? Of course, we should not be involved in actively participating in or initiating anything that is “evil.” That should be obvious to all of us. Then, again, we get down to the questions of whether something is or is not evil. The Bible is the defining word for us on what is evil and what is not. The apostle Paul says we should not just avoid being evil but that we should “abhor what is evil.”
Is it therefore, enough to “abhor what is evil?” No, there are some very practical things that we as Christians should and should not do. We are to “Repay no one evil for evil.” We are “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” We are not to, “avenge yourselves” because, “‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” However, we are to go beyond this and Paul put it this way, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Finally, we are told, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
The Christian’s role in the world is not to be a passive one. We are not to just not be evil – we are to go beyond this to action. To remain passive would by itself be an act of evil by failing to do the good that you are able to do. We have a higher role than simply not being evil. We are to overcome evil with good and that takes action. What are you doing to overcome the evil of this world?
(Is not being evil enough?)