Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21
“Christians are bound to the belief that all creation is dear to the Creator, and is the object of His cherishing care. The violent as well as the peaceful, the dictators as well as their victims, the Blimps as well as the pacifists, the Government as well as the Opposition, the sinners as well as the saints. All the children of the Eternal Perfect. Some inhabitants of this crowded nursery are naughty, some stupid, some wayward, some are beginning to get good. All are immersed in the single tide of creative love, which pours out from the heart of the universe and through the souls of self-abandoned men. God loves, not merely tolerates, these wayward violent half-grown spirits; and seeks without ceasing to draw them into His love. We, then, are called to renounce hostile attitudes and hostile thoughts towards even our most disconcerting fellow sinners to feel as great a pity for those who go wrong as for their victims, to show an equal generosity to the just and unjust. This is only-peace propaganda, which has creative quality, and is therefore sure of ultimate success. All else is a scratching on the surface, more likely to irritate than to heal.”
Evelyn Underhill (1874-1941) in Modern Guide to the Ancient Quest for the Holy (SUNY Press: Albany, 1988) 200. We returned home to Colorado yesterday afternoon. Most of our Spring snow had melted but the header photo was the view on our afternoon walk. There’s nothing like a walk on a sunny day or a good book to lift our gaze heavenward in praise!
Frankly, I feel like a child who only beginning to learn to how to extend “equal generosity” to everyone. Underhill’s thoughts drip of the love and goodness of Christ. She graciously reminds us of God’s “cherishing care” for “this crowded nursery” of humanity and leads me to give thanks for “the single tide of creative love” that draws each of us to Him.
Underhill also rightly points the way to exhibiting “equal generosity” to others. We must renounce all hostile attitudes and thoughts towards everyone. Any other posture toward people will not only fail, it will cause more damage. All this merely affirms what the Apostle Paul teaches us: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good! God help us do this!