The appearance of evil

 “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:22

Appearance speaks a lot for itself, in relation to people, places, meals, etc. You certainly have looked at a plate of food and said: “This looks good, must be delicious” or “this food looks bad, it must not be good.” Even without proof, only by the appearance you could see whether it was good or bad. Although that impression might not coincide with reality, it almost always does!

Let us see the meaning of the word appearance: what appears at first sight; exteriority, aspect, probability.

When God tells us to abstain ourselves of all appearance of evil, it means that when we see the appearance of something, and realize that it does not prove to be good, then we must neither prove nor want to try it, let alone say get closer. God said,“Abstain from all appearance of evil…” He did not say “abstain from all evil” if we see that a certain person, place, or situation already appears evil, we must reject it right away!

Here are some examples:

You know that the boy who is flirting with you is not of the same faith, so do not reciprocate or start a relationship, knowing that he does not know God.  You must reject it before accepting and suffering.

Your friends invite you to go to the club. Don’t you know what happens in those places and that by being there you become vulnerable? Is it the appearance of good or evil?

You see a group of people gossiping, the best thing to do is to not join them, otherwise you will end up doing the same.

The best we can do is to always run away from everything that appears evil and destructive to our lives and to our faith. If we do not, we will end up making mistakes and displeasing God with our attitudes.

Have you fled from the appearance of evil?