You will need
the following viewers
to view many of the
files on this site.

Click here to
download
Adobe Acrobat Reader

Click here to
download
Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer

Assembly Times

 Sunday

   Bible Classes (10:00 am)

   AM Worship (11:00 am)

 Wednesday

   Bible Classes (7:00 pm)

Location

180 Townwood Drive

Charlottesville, VA 22901

Click Here for Specific Directions

Overcome Evil with Good

By Rhode Davis

In Romans 12:21, Paul wrote to “not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us to do good to those who treat us badly. This does not seem natural to us. When someone is mean to us, we often want to be mean back to them.

When act mean to people who are mean to us, we make the world a darker place. When we act good towards people who do not deserve it, we bring glory to God.

Jesus said that if we love our enemies, say good things about our enemies when they speak evil of us, do good to those who do not like us, and pray for those who are mean to you, that you prove yourself a child of God (Matthew 5:38-48).

I will freely admit that this is a very difficult thing to do every day. It makes us feel bad when others treat us unkindly. We must remember that a person who does this often has a small view of himself or herself. If we allow them to make us think less of ourselves, then they feel better about themselves.

There is no worse thing for a bully than to find someone who will act kind when bullied and does not care when the bully makes fun of them. When you do not allow their opinion to matter to you, you take away their power.

If you pray for the bully and help them when they are in need, it is hard for him to continue to have such a bad attitude towards you.

When I was in high school there was a boy who used to flick my ears and bother me in class. One day I turned around and, without whining or yelling, asked why he enjoyed it so much. He looked surprised; I guess no one had ever asked him. Embarrassed, he said, “I don’t know. I just do it.” But from that day on he did not do it anymore and in fact became a friend!

Not everyone will become your friend, but you do not have to answer their evil with evil. Jesus was good to those who were evil; we should be too.