Back in the
mid 1960’s, “Get Smart” was a popular TV sitcom. It was a funny show; certainly better than
most of what currently passes for “entertainment”, in my opinion anyway. The show was a spoof of such classic spy
thrillers as the “Man from U.N.C.L.E” series and the James Bond movies. This basic premise provided a comic vehicle for
the escapades of the bungling protagonist, Maxwell Smart, as he battled the
agents of the sinister spy organization “KAOS”.
Just a few years ago a movie was released capitalizing on the popularity
of this TV series, incorporating the same name and characters. The film opened with a narrator uttering the
phrase “There has always been a delicate balance between chaos and
control. Now with that balance
threatened, it’s time to turn to one man.” Essentially this introduction provides
the backdrop for both the TV show and the movie; a light-hearted framework to
depict the prototypical story line of good guys versus bad guys.
Unfortunately,
the actual history of the epic struggle between good and evil is not so
uplifting. Shortly before the “Get
Smart” series came on the scene, Nikita Khrushchev was the leader of the
Communist party in Russia. One of the
reasons he had moved up the ranks within the party was the manner in which he
handled an assignment he had received from Josef Stalin. Shortly after World War II, he was sent to
put down a rebellion by Ukrainian nationalists.
He performed this duty with such enthusiasm he earned the nickname “The
Butcher of the Ukraine”, and subsequently placed himself in position of
influence within the Communist party.
One of the moments for which he is most remembered is the day he stood
before the United Nations and pounded his shoe on the table in an attempt to
intimidate the representatives of the other countries. He even brought the U.S. to the very edge of
nuclear war when the military actions he initiated triggered the Cuban Missile
Crisis. To Americans he was frightening;
his political rhetoric and aggressive actions posed a true threat to the
American way of life, and he seemed to be the very embodiment of evil.
Recently, we
Americans have all been shocked by the incomprehensible shootings which took
place in Colorado and Connecticut. I’m
sure it seems to most of us that evil is more prevalent then ever, and that the
“bad guys” are winning the day. But we
must understand that there has always been and always will be evil in this
sin-stained world. As C.S Lewis so aptly
stated, we Christians live in “enemy occupied territory”, and thus we should
not be surprised there is a cosmic struggle taking place between good and evil.
Edmund Burke, an English statesman of the
1700’s, said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men
to do nothing”. The question is, what do
we do when confronted with evil? The Bible
provides two definitive responses. One: Do
not fear! The Apostle Paul exhorted
the Christians of his day to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might! What an admonition for us today!
In a day where men’s hearts fail for fear we must realize as Christians
that if God be with us, whom shall we fear!
This trust in our God provides us the impetus to perform the second
response: Do good! Jesus Himself urged
His followers to combat evil by.. . .doing good! (Mt 5:16 and Mt 5:44, among
numerous others)
Evil will
always be in our world. What are we to
do? Exactly what our forefathers did
during those perilous days of the war for independence. Put our faith in God, for we know He is
sovereign. Realize whether we live or
die, we are the Lord’s (Rom 14:8); and taking confidence in these things. . . .
. do good!
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