Resident, Evil

He shared with BBC correspondent Zeinab Badawi some of his experience. I was transfixed as I listened to his chilling insights into things he learned and discovered while he executed his task as prosecutor. 

The main thing that stood out in my mind was what could get normal, likable, ordinary citizens to become ruthless exterminators of their fellow human beings.  Though sinister, the shift of mindset was deceptively simple. Attack a person’s nationality, religion or ability to make a living, with the right amount of force and you are making it easier for the seed of evil to germinate and grow. Any combination of the same will produce devastating results. 

It’s easy to call out evil but harder to realize how quickly it can sprout and spread in our own hearts. Our capabilities as humans are sometimes beyond belief especially when we find ways to justify a decision. There are many around us who fall victim to making wrong decisions given the pressures of the day, or what is happening in their lives at the time, or something happening in that very moment.  Never, ever condone the wrong but always seek to help he/she who seeks to be genuinely repentant. The Holy Spirit will reveal to you their true intent if you ask for divine direction. Where would WE be if God did not treat us that way. No, seriously…where would you really be?  Evil can make itself at home anywhere. 

History has shown us that evil does not announce itself with blaring horns but with whispers—small compromises, slow justifications, gradual desensitization. It inches forward, disguised as necessity, clothed in logic, masquerading as justice. And before we know it, the unthinkable becomes reality. But as much as darkness moves subtly, so does light. Every act of mercy, every refusal to dehumanize, every time we choose love over hate, we push back against the tide. Let history teach, but let wisdom guide. The world has seen what happens when good men do nothing—may that never be said of us.

— YorkAli Walters