HOW TO AVOID THE APPEARANCE OF EVIL
Many Believers are experts at abstaining from evil, but they haven’t been abstaining from it’s appearance.
1Thesalonians 5:22 KJV
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Dear Believer,
Evil exists, but here, we are dealing with the ‘appearance of evil.’
Many Believers are experts at abstaining from evil, but they haven’t been abstaining from it’s appearance.
A man may not be a thief, but he may do things that make him look like a thief. A woman may not be an adulterer, but the way she associates, acts and relates with the wrong people may give the impression that she is.
Many times, the appearance of evil attracts the same penalty as evill itself. Many innocent people have been punished for a wrong deed they didn’t commit because they were careless with their life.
Believers aren’t expected to live carelessly.
Ephesians 5:15 NET
Therefore be very careful how you live – not as unwise but as wise,
The world is watching, and we have an enemy who is always watching for our mistakes — stalking us and trying to get us down. (1Peter 5:8).
Abstaining from all appearance of evil isn’t just about avoiding evil. When you live in ways that make it easy for you to commit errors, you are exposing yourself to evil. You aren’t avoiding the appearance of evil.
A married preacher I knew decided to be going for his preaching engagements with a young lady. They would check in into the same hotel and stay around each other for days at times. When people started talking, he said they had ‘dirty minds.’ He claimed the secretary was just an assistant in the mibistry who kept his schedules and helped him organize his itinerary.
The first thing that began to happen was that believers started questioning his integrity. To most people, that arrangement was very inappropriate. To cut the long story short, this led to the breaking of the home of this influencial man of God. He didn’t abstain from the appearance of evil.
Live so that you won’t have to be explaining to people why you are here or there. Don’t put yourself in a position you may have to be endlessly defending. Just make your life an open book and a bulwark of integrity.
The world is full of false accusers, and many of them hate Believers already. Why should we make it easier for them to accuse us?
Pray about this. If you are not well positioned, or if you are living in such a way that you are easily associated with any evil, may the Lord help you to make the necessary adjustments.
Have a blessed day.
Your friend,
Deon.
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Deon Akintomide is a Pastor, author and publisher. He teaches the Word of God and ministers healing to the body and the mind. He is the founding minister of the LifeHouse Global Missions and the Pastor of The LifeHouse Kingdom Centre in Lagos. Deon is married to Tola Akintomide.
