this evil world

Today we read from Titus 2:1-15 in the One Year Bible. Paul tells Titus that "We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, looking forward with hope to the day when God's glory will be revealed."

This is a good, balanced view of what our lives are like. We don't look at life through rose-colored, Pollyanna glasses, pretending in naive optimism that everything will be fine. We were reminded of that this week, when a man entered a synagogue spouting anti-semitic nonsense and then started shooting people who had done him no wrong. He killed eleven people before he was stopped. That's the evil world that Paul referred to. It's real. And we can expect it to be evil.

On the other hand, we are not to sink into despair, wringing our hands and wondering what we're going to do. Paul finishes the sentence. And we need to read it. "Live in this world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God." Even though the world around us swells with hatred, fear, pride, and all of the evils that flow from those things, we are to live the kind of lives that bring Him joy. We are to be salt and light in our world by exemplifying wisdom, holiness, and dedication to God. Day in and day out. Consistently. So that those who look at our lives will think to themselves, "You know, there must be something to that."

How can we do that, though? How can we live holy lives while surrounded by this encroaching, pernicious evil? Well, to do so, we finish the sentence. Paul goes on to say, "Looking forward with hope to the day when His glory will be revealed." We keep our eyes on the prize. We focus our thoughts on Jesus. We allow Him to fill us with His love, and drive out the fear and hatred that try to fill our minds.

That's how.

God, thank You for showing us how to live in a world that can be filled with senseless violence. Help us be Your salt and light.