Avoid even the appearance of evil

If they had only read the right Bible.

I had hoped to move from the political arena to other areas of interest, but this week I am pressed in my spirit as to the great evil that continues unabated in Republican Party politics. Quite frankly, I, too, am tired of all the mileage the media seems to be getting from all the scandals that are paraded before us. But the sad truth is that all of these could have easily been avoided.

Make no mistake about it — the political arena is a vicious circle, and if you are going to stand for something you are going to have enemies, but to grant them a foothold is to lack foresight. And before we get too self-righteous here, let us bear in mind that when King David, in II Samuel 12, was confronted with Bathsheba-gate, he humbly confessed, “I have sinned against the LORD.” No fighting, no arguing, no hiring of lawyers, no refusal of subpoenas, no lawsuits …

The truth is that all the gates that have been opened, as well as the attention that has been generated, were totally avoidable had those involved read the right Bible. Now, while many do not believe that there is much difference between the various Bibles that are available today, the truth is that things that are different are not the same.

I have before me this morning the Hendrickson Parallel Bible, a compilation of four different translations, the King James Version, the New King James Version, the New International Version and the New Living Translation. It is not before me as a comparative aide in my sermon preparations, but I often refer to it to document how far modern Christianity is straying from its moorings.

And in I Thessalonians 5:22, the distinction is clear: They should have read the King James Bible. It says, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

Let’s think about this verse for a moment. Among the four translations that are here, they all begin the verse with basically the same idea, that of abstinence. And we, as Christians, are very familiar with the concept, especially as it applies to fornication, conception before marriage and abortion. It is the world and the lost who advocate abortion to cover the consequences of their sin, while following God’s ways needs no such remedy.

However, here is where the similarities stop, for the King James continues with the word “appearance” while the others use the words “form” and “kind” (of evil) instead. At this point, no doubt, many will argue that the words form and kind can include the intentions behind the word appearance, but let’s stop playing the lawyer game. The reality is that the average American uses phrases such as, “Technically, that isn’t wrong …”

What we really have here is a lowering of behavioral standards. What the King James is saying here is stay out of the kitchen so that Mom doesn’t think you are in the cookie jar, while the others are advocating that as long as your hand is not in the cookie jar, it doesn’t matter that you were up on the counter.

To put it another way, how many of you would tell your child to walk along the edge of a cliff, but don’t fall over? Wouldn’t you rather tell them don’t even get close? But while God wants us to stay so far away from evil that we don’t even look bad, man’s predisposition is to see how far he can go without getting caught or being technically wrong.

The problem is that from time to time, man goes too far and gets too close and incurs damage. And let me say this: Just because someone cloaks themselves with the mantle of Christianity doesn’t grant them immunity when violating the appearance of evil clause.

About two and a half years ago I, too, was faced with a tough choice. You see, I do the daily commute to Anchorage like many of you, and we had just hired a new employee who also lived in the Valley; in fact, just up the street from where I live. In view of the cost of fuel, one might think that the logical choice would be to carpool or vanpool together. However, this new coworker was a married woman, and due to the circumstances, neither of these options would look right, so I stopped vanpooling and commuted alone.

Consider for yourselves what the price tag might have been had I read the wrong Bible.

Ron Hamman is pastor for Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229.