Like many other folks in South Carolina, I have been keeping track of what is probably best described as “the saga of the Murdaugh family”. If you aren’t familiar with this, there is a podcast dedicated to it - the Murdaugh Murders Podcast - and some shows and articles that you can find online as well. However, I do want to caution you - there are parts that are graphic and can be hard to hear, because, in my opinion, part of what is played out in this saga is just evil.
For many folks, this saga began with the news of some drunk teenagers on a joy ride in a boat that ends with a crash and a young lady dead. As events progressed, there is evidence of an attempted cover-up, wrong financial dealings, corruption in the family, and all ending with the gruesome murder of a son and his mother. It is one of those true-life stories that proves that truth can be stranger than fiction.
But, behind all the drama and intrigue, there is the sad reality that a young woman lost her life because of the boat crash, and a son and mother were eventually murdered. There are families out there who’s lives have been shattered and will never be the same because of this saga and those involved. As interesting and compelling as this drama is, for those who are personally and intimately involved, their lives will never be the same. Some of their loved ones will never walk through the front door again. They will never be able to hug them again, hear their laughter, share in their tears, see them grow older. It’s ultimately a sad saga.
As I watch and listen and keep track of this story, it’s my belief that what lingers behind all of this is evil. In our American legal system, everyone is innocent until proven guilty, so I need to be careful in attributing guilt before the legal system can run its course. However, that doesn’t change the fact that some of the actions that took place came from a place of evil. Some of the crimes don’t seem to come from a place of passion run amok, or bad decisions, or poor wisdom. Rather, some of this saga seems to have been bred from a place of evil.
The concept of evil is, to me, as a Reformed Presbyterian, an interesting concept, mainly because of our modern day approach to this concept. To speak in general terms, for many American professing Christians, evil is either something that happens elsewhere, or what we label as being evil is usually something that can best described as being a #firstworldproblem. It’s my opinion that we don’t have a firm Biblical grasp on what is truly evil - and how evil is part of the world around us and it does affect us in faith and life.
For the sake of this post, I am going to define and approach the concept of evil as taught by Dr. R.C. Sproul, “Evil cannot be defined as a thing or as a substance or as some kind of being. Rather, evil is always defined as an action, an action that fails to meet a standard of goodness. In this regard, evil has been defined in terms of its being either a negation (negatio) of the good, or a privation (privatio) of the good. In both cases, the very definition of evil depends upon a prior understanding of the good. In this regard, as Augustine argued, evil is parasitic — that is, it depends upon the good for its very definition.”
With that definition and approach in mind, I want us to take a few moments to think about the evil in the world around us. Going back to the Murdaugh saga, what would compel a person to use a shotgun to shoot and kill a young man, and then an assault rifle to shoot and kill this young man’s mother? It could only be evil. It’s an action that fails to meet a standard of goodness. It does not seem that this shooting took place as an act of self-defense. It does not seem that this shooting took place for any reason that comes from good/goodness.
Let us now think about the current debate on abortion … where does the taking of an innocent life in the womb come from? I understand there are arguments about the life of the mother and/or the life of child in the womb, but in general terms, where does the taking of an innocent life in the womb come from? Is it an action that meets the standard of goodness as defined by God? Is it either a negation (negatio) of the good, or a privation (privatio) of the good?
There are many other examples in the world around us that we need to look at and apply this standard of evil. It doesn’t take us long in thinking through this to see how evil, and the embracing of evil, can affect faith and life. If a person is habitually and routinely choosing that which is evil … of choosing to fail to meet the standard of God’s goodness … then we can logically deduce how this would negatively affect faith and life.
As much as American Christianity seems to struggle with the Biblical concept of evil, the Bible doesn’t shy away from it. From the fall in the Garden, to Joseph’s famous remark to his brothers, to God’s reason for the flood, to Job’s plight, to the Psalmist’s handling of the issue, and onward, the Bible lays out plainly and clearly that there is evil all around us, and, at times, in and through our actions.
The Bible is faithful to point us to the antidote of evil, and that is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the 2nd Person of the Trinity. It is only Jesus who has met every standard of goodness according to God. It is only Jesus who has ever not negated the good or taken away from the good. He is, in His person and work, the very definition of good. And, it is this Jesus, in His goodness, that died for His people, so that we will, through faith, turn more from evil and more unto His perfect and righteous ways. On our own, we could never fully turn from evil. But, in and through faith in Jesus, we are now enabled, by the Spirit of Christ, to turn from evil and turn to the goodness of God in Christ. Praise the Lord for such an undeserved gift!
Knowing this, we are now able to see the world through the proper lens. We can now discern what is evil because we know the standard of God in Christ. We can now know how to live in the light of God’s grace and glory through obedience to Him and not to evil. We can now live in light instead of choosing the darkness of evil - thanks be to the Lord!
This also helps know how to pray for those things that are evil and those who do them. For those involved in the evil in the Murdaugh saga, they need Jesus as their Lord and Savior - and we have the honor to pray in that way. For those involved in the evil in the world around, and those who help provide these evils, we need to pray for them. Pray that the Lord will either make His goodness shown to them, or have His goodness shown in justice (that is another topic altogether!).
For those of us who know God’s goodness in Christ, let us embrace it, live for it, have it affect the joy of being His. Let it also be a catalyst for us to pray against evil and evil-doers, and that the goodness of God’s will prevail in how He chooses to answer these prayers.
