VIEWPOINT

Purim, a spring Jewish festival, will be celebrated this year on March 14.  It commemorates God’s victory over Haman’s evil intentions to utterly destroy the Jewish people.  Today, the feast of Purim is a lighthearted holiday traditionally celebrated by humorous enactments of the book of Esther.

But the actual events of the book of Esther were anything but light-hearted for the Jews living at that time.  The ancient world was cruel, and in this case, the mass execution of an entire people was methodically planned.  This was the atrocious evil associated with the name Haman.

“And the letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women” (Esther 3:13).

Many people don’t want to acknowledge that evil exists; they believe that people do bad things because circumstances or environment or conditioning leaves them no choice.  We have fashioned blame shifting into an art form to avoid the harsh reality that people are responsible for their evil actions. 

Scripture declares, however that evil is real.  Villains like Haman or Herod or Hitler or Hussein are always inspired by Satan.  But Scripture also reveals that a major source of evil in this world is the human heart! 

From earliest times, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5).  This was not merely an evaluation of one  or two generations.  It was God’s diagnosis of the human predicament for all time.  Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man” (Mark 7:21-3).  People are evil.  And part of our evil nature is that we don’t want to admit it.

Our post-modern mindset resists the idea that evil is part of human nature because of the fall of our race.  How ironic then, that when confronted with their wrongs, many shrug it off by saying, “I am only human.”  Precisely!  Deep down, everyone knows that not one of us is exempt from evil thoughts, words or deeds.  Most would simply prefer to call it something else.

Thankfully, God did not condemn us to be left to our own evil inclinations.  God sent His only beloved Son, through the Jewish race, into this world to change our destiny for good.  Satan in his pride, tried to get Jesus to bow down to him.  Failing that, he foolishly constructed a “gallows” from which Jesus willingly allowed Himself to be hung.  The enemy must have thought Jesus’ death would defeat the plan of God.  Instead, that gallows, the cross of Christ, became the point of victory by which the adversary and all his evil accomplices would be destroyed.

--------------

We enjoyed a record high attendance last Sunday for Bible Study in 2006 – 92.  With 81 in attendance we also had the year’s highest number for Sunday evening:  I’m challenging everyone in our Cedar Grove family to see our assemblies not as just one more item on a long list of “stuff to do.”  I want us to see our worship as opportunities to train for a better life and enjoy the wonderful spiritual blessings that the Father offers.

I look forward to seeing you Sunday with a Bible, a smile and a positive word!                                RA