Defeating Evil With Good

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The Bible tells us that we are to defeat evil with good. (Romans 12.21). Here is a good object lesson to illustrate that point.

Preparation. Take a thin piece of wood (about 40cm. x 10cm.), and write on it the word EVIL. Take 3 or 4 sheets of newspaper, and write on one of them the word GOOD.

Presentation. Ask your class Which do you think is stronger Evil or Good ? You will probably get a mixed response.

Proceed along these lines. With so much evil in the world, it may sometimes appear as though evil is stronger than good, but God tells us that we are to defeat evil, not with evil, but with good. This piece of wood stands for evil, and it certainly looks strong (bang it on a table a few times). These flimsy pieces of newspaper stand for good but, as you know, they could easily tear. However, we shall now find out which is the stronger – the wood or the paper, evil or good.

Lay the piece of wood on a table or desk, overhanging the edge about 15cm. Place the pieces of newspaper fairly tightly over the wood, with the piece marked GOOD on the very top. As you do so, you could retell the story of Calvary i.e. I am sure that when Jesus was arrested, beaten and crucified, the forces of evil were jumping for joy. They thought they had beaten Good for ever. But they were in for a shock, because on the third day Jesus rose from the dead, proving the reverse – that He was stronger than evil.

Tell the class that you are now going to hit the wood and paper hard with the side of your hand. Which will break – the flimsy paper ? – the hard wood ? (or perhaps your hand! ?). Do this, hitting the wood and paper just past the overhang. You will find that the wood will break and the paper will remain intact, reminding us that Good is stronger than Evil.

Conclusion. Good, therefore, can defeat evil. This means for us that if someone is nasty to us, we can defeat this by being good to them in return. This can often be a hard thing to do, but if we persist in doing good, we will usually find that they will start being good to us as well.

by Maurice Sweetsur, http://objectlessons.blogspot.com/