Deuteronomy, Chapter 25, Verse 17-18
17
Bear in mind what Amalek did to
you on the journey after you left Egypt, 18 how he surprised you along the way, weak and weary as you were, and
struck down at the rear all those who lagged behind; he did not fear God.
How shall we deal with truly evil people?
In Judaism, the Amalekites came to
represent the archetypal enemy of the Jews. In the Jewish folklore the
Amalekites are considered to be the symbol of evil. This concept has been used
by some Hassidic rabbis (particularly the Baal Shem Tov) to represent atheism
or the rejection of God. Elliot Horowitz and Josef Stern suggest that
Amalekites have come to represent an "eternally irreconcilable enemy"
that wants to murder Jews, and that Jews in post-biblical times sometimes
associate contemporary enemies with Haman or Amalekites, and that some Jews
believe that pre-emptive violence is acceptable against such enemies.
The truly wicked are animals as
the bible mentions they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Strong men and women whether
laity of religious have a duty to protect the flock; they are the shepherds of the
church that protect the weaker ones. Who are the Amalekites of our time; how
shall we recognize them.
According to Christian Counselor Lesie Vernick
there are five indicators that you may be dealing with an evil heart rather
than an ordinary sinful heart.
1.
Evil
hearts are experts at creating confusion and contention. They
twist the facts, mislead, lie, avoid taking responsibility, deny reality, make
up stories, and withhold information.
2.
Evil hearts are experts at fooling others with their smooth speech and
flattering words. But if you look at the fruit of their lives or the
follow through of their words, you will find no real evidence of godly growth
or change. It’s all smoke and mirrors.
3.
Evil hearts
crave and demand control, and their highest authority is their own
self-reference. They reject feedback, real accountability, and
make up their own rules to live by. They use Scripture to their
own advantage but ignore and reject passages that might require self-correction
and repentance.
4.
Evil
hearts play on the sympathies of good-willed people, often trumping the grace
card. They demand mercy but give none themselves. They demand warmth,
forgiveness, and intimacy from those they have harmed with no empathy for the
pain they have caused and no real intention of making amends or working hard to
rebuild broken trust.
5.
Evil
hearts have no conscience, no remorse. They do not struggle against
sin or evil—they delight in it—all the while masquerading as someone of noble
character.
Hmm…sounds like politicians
to me? I would like to finish with some thoughts of Saint John Paul II on the
subject.
I once again address the leaders of nations
and all men and women of good will, who recognize the need to build peace in
the world…"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good" (12:21). Evil is never defeated by evil; once that road is
taken, rather than defeating evil, one will instead be defeated by
evil.
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