Evil doesn't care

There are some classic scenes in the movie The Dark Knight.  It has become one of my favorite movies — sorry for those who aren’t fans of Batman. In this movie, things unravel as various characters, both good and bad, try to figure out who Joker is and what makes him tick.  His personal story comes to light in the scene when he talks about his father murdering his mother in front of him, and you get a sense of how his life has unraveled since.  Even other hardened criminals think he is beyond nuts.  It’s portrayed in scenes like the one where he burns a pile of money, simply saying to his then-partner, “It’s not about money, it’s about sending a message.” Late in the movie, his character is fully revealed as he’s hanging by his feet, upside down, talking with Batman when he says, “See, madness as you know, is like gravity.  All it needs is a little push.” The movie is chilling, and a picture of evil done for its own sake.  Evil doesn’t need a reason, because it’s well, evil.  The Joker portrays that all too well, even to the demise of Heath Ledger, who some say couldn’t pull himself out of the dark character he portrayed.  It should serve as a warning to us all, that the evil that is present among us, that Scripture tells us to resist, is no respecter of person.  Depravity doesn’t care who you are, it simply seeks to destroy. Remember this line when the Joker says, “Whatever doesn’t kill you, simply makes you stranger”?  You can’t hear that without getting a sense of the nature of evil, and its allure.  Like I said last week, and shared with you in chapel this week, evil isn’t something we should mess with.  It is addicting, destructive, and has no concern for the person.  Evil doesn’t care who we are. It’s why we battle against it — no apology for the war imagery. It’s why we don’t want others to be objectified by it.  It’s why we need to put any and everything in place to protect ourselves from it.  It is tempting; feeds on our natural desire; bends them in a direction that we were not created to go; ultimately seeking to break us — all of us. If this language is too strong for some, I need to again remind us all that evil isn’t something we should mess with.  We need to call evil what it is. This next week, we move into a time known as Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday.  It provides us with the opportunity to reflect on our sin, and realize that the decisions we make matter.  My prayer for us all as we move toward Easter together is that we resist the evil among us, repent of the ways we participate in it, and recognize Christ’s provision is our way out.  If you’ll let me say it again, Jesus has made the provision for heaven to break into the present, so the evil among us can be resisted, and overcome.   I’m praying for you today!