where does evil get its power?

"be vigilant, be sober, because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour"     I Peter 5:8

"the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, I come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly"   John 10:10

Where does evil get its power? We see that the objective of evil is to destroy, to kill "life" (zoe, God's life) and evil "roams around seeking whom it may devour".  We know that for the unbeliever, evil is eternal separation from God (Hell). But for the believer, the consequences of evil are not death (eternal separation from God) but rather impotence. The power evil has over believers is to constrain their light and to steal their joy, to put them in a box where Christ stays private. This happens through shame, guilt, fear, pride, etc. of the believer. This gives evil its power.

Why does the believer feel these emotions that constrain their joy and make them hide their light under a basket? Well, I think it generally comes from our desire to please others, to be respected and liked by our peers. But its more than that. There are two sides to the equation.

While our nature is to seek our well being from the world around us and not the glory God has given us through Jesus, our reaction to our own transgressions feeds destruction of our pride resulting in our fear, shame, blame, and guilt. However, if those who witness our transgression responded to us in Grace, we the transgressor may be spared the consequences of Satan's desires, and thus not have the light in us extinguished. There's a case to be made that evil has no power unless the persons witnessing the transgression choose to give evil attention and react in judgment and gossip, not Grace.

I for one have made many mistakes, some significant ones even recently. As I pondered the shame and guilt from my actions, I realized that while I really offended God and should know better, my desire to withdraw and hide is mainly influenced by fearing the condemnation of others, not God. The thought occurred to me that if my friends never embellish evil's design on me, if they simply ignore what Satan has orchestrated and respond in unconditional love as God does, then "death and destruction" doesn't occur. The power evil has to shut me down and to steal  my joy may be as sourced in my brothers and sisters mistakes in how they respond to my mistake than in my mistake itself. This is not intended to be a deflection away from consequences of my own action, but a broader look from God's perspective of what is really happening.

In some ways a condemning response to another's transgression may be more destructive than the original mistake itself. While not excusing or rationalizing our sin, may God really be equally concerned by our giving evil its power when we respond to others in judgment rather than Grace?? Can we really take the sting out of evil and make it impotent instead by extending the Grace we have been blessed with to others as each of us in our own way fail in our actions.

certainly worth pondering .....