Activities that display scorn, hatred or contempt for our Creator, for His creation and for His plan and purpose for our life are evil. Jesus said man in no uncertain, ambiguous or unquestionable way prefers darkness over light. In the sermon “Decidedly Evil” the choices mankind makes in regard to God is compared to the choice the central character in the 1934 movie “Imitation of Life” made in rejecting her mother, all things black or negro and any life that involved her living as a negro.
This central character named Peola was born negro or black in a world designed to benefit those who are white and stifle those who are black. But because of her skin complexion she had the choice of passing and living as a white person. By living as a white person, she could bypass all the obstacles and barriers to success faced by negroes. But that choice would require her to deny who she was born as, to deny her mother, to withdraw from all negroes and to bypass any life she may have had as a negro.
Mankind was created in the image of God to be good like his Creator. In order to be or do good, man is required by His Creator to deny or delay for himself some things he needs and desires. Evil is a method of bypassing or transgressing the way God has ordained to meet needs and desires. So like Peola, man is born or created with obstacles and barriers to meeting his needs and desires like negroes but also like Peola man has the means to bypass these restrictions if he denies his heritage by choosing evil like Peola chose whiteness.
In choosing evil, people fail to acknowledge the place of their creator in the life. By choosing to pass as white, Peola would no longer acknowledge the role of her mother in her life. In choosing evil, people disassociate themselves with the church and people of God in favor of other groups of people who don’t acknowledge or obey God. By choosing to pass as white, Peola abandon the negro community in favor of another community who had no love or support for the one she left.
In choosing evil, people reject the purpose and life God designed for them for a life of their own choosing and making. By choosing to pass as white, Peola refused to fulfill her purpose and destiny she had as a negro for a life she would make for herself. People have been taught and led to believe that being evil is better than being good. And in the short run, the good suffer while the wicked seem to prosper.
As a result, people tend to shy away from goodness as they see it more as a liability than as an asset. In a similar way, negroes wouldn’t embrace their blackness because society makes black seem bad. In 1969, James Brown led negroes into saying and believing they are black and proud and black people began to embrace their blackness and heritage.
Jesus is a type of spiritual James Brown in helping man to be good and proud. So now that we know, we have a choice. We choose to be decidedly good and be what God created us to be or Negro or we choose to be decidedly evil and someone God didn’t make us to be or White. The condemnation or judgement is that now men know the truth, they choose evil or whiteness anyway because they prefer it to blackness or goodness.
Look for our Sunday School preview that comes out on Thursday of this week on our Facebook page and mobile app. You can also enjoy the SS Daily Bible Readings anytime and anywhere at our website. As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments
Pastor Jordan
