Psalm 5:4 “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.”
School teachers are the most remarkable humans. Somehow, they inspire children to greatness, even though those students seemingly lie dormant in their classroom from September to May. And there is more. From calming angry parents in the pickup line, to disassembling and reassembling copiers as fast as a Nascar pit crew, to possessing the telepathy to name the child who released the hamster in the classroom, teachers are superheroes.
But one area in which teachers admittedly struggle is pairing up roommates for overnight fieldtrips. Certain students simply can not room together. Perhaps one is a night owl, the other an early bird, or one likes it cold and the other likes it hot, or they argue, (and their parents argue, too). Through it all, teachers have proven incompatibility does exist!
Did you know incompatibility is found in scripture? Two of the greatest incompatible conditions are good and evil. Just as with roommates, good and evil simply cannot live together. And, since God is good, evil cannot coexist with Him. Just look at Psalm 5:4 above.
Consider how evil played out in the life of King Saul. The king was not accustomed to sharing the spotlight. Then a young whipper-snapper named David showed up and killed the big, bad Goliath. Suddenly, David took center stage and Saul was demoted to supporting-actor status. Saul’s insecurity planted jealousy in his heart which grew to fill him with evil. It was then, the Lord departed from him.
Saul allowed jealousy over David’s popularity to take up residency in his soul, consume his thoughts, control his actions, and crowd out the spirit of God. Saul’s story confirms goodness and evil are incompatible roommates.
So, friend, stop and ponder a few hard truths about the evil that jealousy plays in our own lives. Jealousy grows if we allow it to remain in our hearts. It will eat away at our desire to be who God planned us to be and eventually, as with Saul, the Spirit of God will depart from us. So, friend, if your desire is to possess God’s Spirit, flee from evil, (and that includes jealousy) for God simply cannot co-exist with it.
Father God, fill our hearts to overflowing with your love so no room is left for any type of evil.
Blessings,
Rita Cochrane