Why does evil persist if God is good?

Pastor Mairos

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

God cannot stop war, crime, disease and accidents if the heart of man is not in His hands as He can only work through individuals.
Evil resides in the heart of man and it will persist if the heart of man remains evil. As long as the centre of man’s life has an evil disposition evil will continue to be made manifest in the world. If a man thinks evil, evil will follow.  If a man is not at peace with himself, he will cause war.
Someone once wrote, “If a man demotes, despises and deprecates himself, he cannot lift up or give esteem, goodwill and respect to others; for it is a cosmic law of mind that man is constantly projecting his thoughts, feelings and beliefs onto others  and what he sends out comes back to him.”
The solution to this conflict is for man to give his heart to God. God asks, “My son give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways” (Proverbs 23:26).
Since the heart of man is the source of evil, it is only logical that change must begin from there. To give one’s heart to God means to surrender the steering wheel of one’s life to God.
With God in control of man’s heart evil will be greatly reduced. Consecration of one’s life to God is the most important factor in the eradication of evil in the world. When one acknowledges the supremacy of God and allows God to be the ruling factor in his life, good will be the result.  If a man treasures God then his heart will be after God. 
For the scripture says that where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.  Man must first love and honour the indwelling God in his heart before evil can be stopped.  When a man’s heart is filled with the fear of God he will at least fear to murder, steal or or do anything that destabilises the peace of others.
But when a man thinks he is his own god, the captain of his soul and the master of his destiny, evil is inevitable because he will fall prey to the devil’s schemes.  We need to understand that man, humanly speaking, is no match for the devil.  Only a man whose heart is controlled by Christ can overcome the schemes of the devil.
 In other words it is Christ manifested in the life of a man that destroys the works of the devil, not man in his natural state.  If a man wins the internal warfare between his flesh and the spirit first then chances are good that he can win the battle with the world and the devil. But if he is defeated in heart, he is defeated in external wars as well.
Man will blame God, the government and fate but will not accept his failure to give his heart to God.  Stop blaming God, the government and fate for the persistence of evil in the world and give your heart to God. There is the rub. Man wants his freedom. He will rather give his heart to money, talent and other things than to God.
If you want to find out how much potential evil there is in the world just count how many people will not give their hearts to God. Some say that going to church is not equal to being holy or righteous.  That is true but I am not talking of going to church here but being born again.
A truly born-again man will not massacre people like Adolf Hitler did.
Peace begins with you. Good begins with you. You take the initiative to stop evil first in your own life, your family, your community and finally your nation. But will you give all your heart to God today?
 
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