“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/rom.12.21.LSB

Romans 12 is a summary of how to live as a Christian. It begins individually, moves to corporate engagement large scale, then on a smaller scale, then moves to interact with all people, and finishes with a personal reminder to not be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good. We must not let the macro evil of the world overwhelm us as so many do by listening to the negative news media that permeates our culture. Depression is on the rise in part due to the constant exposure to depressing information. Man is sinful and therefore sins against man, daily, constantly, dreadfully, and consistently. The news reports this evil incessantly to our demise. Neither can we submit to this evil by medicating ourselves with pleasure, like pornography and gaming, or through drugs and alcohol so that we escape thinking about the evil in the world and our world. The appropriate response to evil is prayer and good works. Prayer rather than worry, prayer for God to come and move and heal in our midst. Good works are what the Apostle Paul prescribes in this text. Doing good repels evil. Doing good is taking action against evil. Doing good makes us part of God’s answer to our prayers, part of His solution for the world instead of remaining the problem by our inaction, whining, and worry. Romans 12 lists many of the good things we can do to overcome evil, things we should be doing, must be doing, if we will see a reduction of evil in our world. The Christian is to be God’s workman, who imparts God’s truth to the world through word and deed, building the kingdom of God upon the earth as it is in heaven and Romans 12 helps us to that end.