I had a most unusual journaling session this morning. The subject of evil came up as I was going along, so I went with it. I don’t particularly care for the word personally but sometimes it’s worth exploring these things that trigger us.
I decided to look at some of what Jesus was purported to have said about the subject and a couple of things came to mind. From Matthew 5, 37 “Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one. 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;”
Now I have to say, these are not easy passages to interpret for me, but it does strike me quite clearly that what Jesus meant by evil and the meaning I was taught about evil seem to be quite different. In most religious terms, evil seems to carry with it the connotation of someone being bad and deserving punishment, usually eternal damnation. I realized that this is exactly how I was interpreting the word so not a wonder I don’t like it much. I don’t believe in the very idea of eternal damnation, so the idea of evil didn’t seem right either. Bear with me here as I work this out a bit.
Jesus used a lot of hyperbole in his teachings so taking things like eternal damnation literally is not likely in alignment with what he meant, just as evil was not something that meant we are bad, unlovable or unforgiveable. That is the opposite of what I see in the spirit of Jesus’ teachings. That is however, how much of the Christian world interprets the word evil and it is what I learned growing up.
I would like to offer a different interpretation of evil as Jesus used the word. In my view the word evil here would mean something more like coming from a fearful place which leads us to do things that are not in alignment with our true self which is love. When I do or say something or make a decision I am uncomfortable with because I’m afraid of what others may think of me for instance, I am caught in the trap of fear which leads to all kinds of rationalizations, justifications and excuses; that is what you would call evil. Let your speech be either yes or no, everything else comes from the evil one (the scared one, the ego). This does not make us bad or unlovable, it just means we are not in touch with our loving Essence. We need to notice where we are coming from and change our mind (repent) not condemn ourselves, which many of us tend to do.
And if we find ourselves wanting revenge or resenting or blaming others, we are the evil doers in the context of this interpretation of evil, so we need to ‘turn the other cheek’, in other words change our minds again and turn to love instead of fear which is what’s behind revenge, resentment, etc.
Being fearful doesn’t make us bad or unlovable or unforgiveable; when I go deep into the energy of fear I can sense the innocence behind it and I can see the falsehood that innocent one is caught up in. What is called for here is love not hate or damnation or criticism.
I realized a little while after writing about this topic this morning that it came up in response to the question I am living right now which I wrote about the other day, “What would my life be like if I knew absolutely that God loves me no matter what I think, say or do?” I could see that I was being shown some of the ways I have not felt lovable so that I could let them go.
To me, Jesus was telling us to always turn to love when we find ourselves justifying or blaming or condemning ourselves or others. That gives evil a whole new meaning for me. What about you?
Namaste
