A Correlation Between Desensitizaton and NO JOY.

This week's blog looks back at last week's bible verse of focus:

Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy (Proverbs 12:20). 

I zeroed in more on "personal peace." Without saying the word, I focused on the importance of restoration of relationships. Nothing disrupts joy, or peace, like people unwilling to work at reconciliation... It's not easy, and we've not been trained to do the restoring through healthy conflict, BUT...when we shut folks out of our lives and don't deal with clarification of perspectives, or allow forgiveness to cover one another's faults, we will be most miserable individuals. I KNOW THIS from experience, and from being on both sides...

However, this week, I've been pondering those who "devise evil" and the question that comes up in my mind quite often is this: "What should my resonsibility be to counteract evil when I see it?" Another question follows: "Will I recognize evil when it stares at me from a distance, and/or close-up and personal?"

Right this minute, as I'm typing up this blog, I'm sitting in a motel room on the Oregon coast. There's a fire in the fireplace, and the doors are wide open so I can hear the waves rush to shore and out again. I'm as far from evil as I can get, protected in this warm coccoon of peacefulness.

I don't even want to think about evil...but, truth is that our world is filled with it, and I don't just mean terrorism, although that is a very real threat. It's important to note that evil is anything, or anyone, that secretly (and even not so secretly) plots adversity, trouble, grief, hurt, distress, or wrong in someone else's life. It is anything that deviates from encouragement, edification, or the building up of another. Now that can just be plain downright convicting!

We already know that the Lord wants us to be peacemakers, not fakers or breakers. However, how can I be a peacemaker, and intentionally plan to promote peace, if I don't see evil? The questions I have asked myself and left me with another sobering thought that rather frightens me. After a week of contemplation, I've come to believe my heart is pretty desensitized to evil. I live in a world, as do you, where we read about it often, see it prevalently reported through the media, watch it on television and movies; and I carefully craft my thoughts in the name of tolerance, accepting as normal that which is anti-TRUTH. I don't want to be labeled legalistic, or come across contrary. There's still that age-old want that desires to please EVERYONE. Yet, the truth is, in confronting evil, truth must be spoken in a loving way. In order to keep holocausts from occuring on a small personal scale, or on a national level, I cannot be silent, nor can I turn my head.

The answer to my questions came to me in this manner:
In order to be a peacemaker, I must do anything I can to soften my heart, to battle that which would harden it to evil, thus preventing desensitization. When I accomplish this, I will recognize evil. Upon staring it in the face, I must stand firm on Biblical Truth, where Scripture is clear and concise, in loving honesty.

When we are desensitized, we will not plan for peace, and we will be bankrupt of joy.
A sensitive heart leads to pursuing peace, which leads to great joy!

I know which direction I want to go...