Psalm 34:13-14
Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Evil can show up in all kinds of places. We tend to think of evil as the workings of the devil and his followers, the deeds of wicked men, an unseen presence somewhere around us. But isn’t it true that evil can be found in us sometimes? Sometimes it’s right on the tip of our tongue, and by our own mouths we spread a form of evil to others around us. It comes in the tone of our voice and the unkind things we say, the lies we spread, the gossip we repeat. It comes when we condemn and criticize instead of building up and edifying. It comes when we spread false doctrine or speak out against God and His truths.

We must be careful of the things we say and how we say them, or else we can be a quite effective tool of the devil. We must depart from these kinds of evils that can dwell in us, but also the evil that is present all around us. It is a burning building that we must flee from, lest we also be consumed by it. Because like fire, it spreads so easily from one person to the next. If we are not careful, we can be easily influenced by those around us who do not seek after God and follow His ways. We can get caught up in other people’s sinful ways and habits, and before we know it, our life and testimony is tarnished or destroyed.

There is an alternative to evil, and of course that is good. As we run away from evil, we should be running toward goodness. We can use not just our lips, but our whole lives to do good for others, to be at peace with them, to treat them kindly, to encourage them, to help meet needs. There are so many simple things that may seem small and insignificant that we can do to enrich someone else’s life.

But it is not just doing good for others that we pursue. We should also be striving to be good, and that comes from pursuing God. That comes when we adopt His views on things, subscribe to His doctrine, imitate His Son, spend time with Him. There are many ways to fall into evil, but there are also many ways to fall into good. Let us seek wholeheartedly after those kinds of things in every part of our lives.