For as long as I can remember, I have been a huge fan of super heroes. From Sonic the Hedgehog to the Amazing Spider-Man, I could never get enough of seeing the good guy rise up in the end to save the day.  There was always something so inspiring and refreshing about these characters (whom I later discovered to be fictional—sad day) that made me want to be like them. Of course they had really cool powers and costumes, but it was still more than that. They stood for something that was right against all odds, and they were willing to lay their lives down to protect that something or someone. Now as a father, I find myself unashamedly smirking as I see my two-year-old son cheering on those same heroes, singing their theme songs, and wanting to own anything that has their emblem on it. Sometimes he actually believes that I am the super hero in disguise, and I can’t help but go along with it (haha).  The fact is, there is good and evil in this world, and there has always been something in humanity that needs to see the hero defeat the villain to remind us that there is a difference.  We need the hope that there is an answer to injustice. The entertainment industry has understood this and has made millions.

The reality today is that good and evil have never looked so similar. More than ever before, creative writers are telling the story of the “bad guy,” giving us new perspective and awareness to understand why they are the way they are. Not only that, the antagonist is fully convinced that his dark deeds are justified. New twists to old tales have us rooting for the villain by the end of the day, while the hero is portrayed as the self-righteous nut looking to press his own agenda. Don’t get me wrong, I ‘m not against the creativity, I’m only attempting to point out the trend of popular thought today. Good and evil has become a matter of perspective rather than objective truth, but take heed, darkness is its most potent when it looks like the light. This generation is getting a front row seat into witnessing the lines of right and wrong being slowly blurred by human emotion while wearing the mask of justice, when the truth is, we know nothing of justice unless our Creator teaches us. How long will we wander in our puddle of confusion until the floodgates of hell come in to deceive even the elect? If those who claim to trust in God and follow Christ cannot even discern what’s right on the most basic issues of morality, how long will it be until we are openly praising the villain and rejecting the savior?

Let this be both a warning and an encouragement depending on where you stand as you read this, there is still a Hero to hope in who selflessly stands for all that is good, all that is pure and all that is true (1 Jn. 1:5). There is still a Righteous Avenger and Judge who will answer every cry of injustice (Lk. 18:7-8). There is still a King who will confront and defeat every drop of wickedness (1 Cor. 15:25). There is still a Light-Giver who will expose and make plain all that is evil (Eph. 5:13-14). There is still a Shepherd who will separate the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:31-32). There is still a Lamb who sacrificed Himself for you who alone is worthy to open the scroll of judgments that we might learn what righteousness truly is (Rev. 5). There is still a Lion who is coming back again hungry to make the wrong things right and bring the darkness into the light. Love will win on His terms not ours (1 Cor. 13). Put your trust in Jesus today (Acts 2:40).

What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil…(Isa. 5:20)