It really does matter what you believe. Not only does it affect you, but it has an effect on society as well. Some beliefs can be absolutely deadly, as the unfortunate couple in this story found out.
Jay and Lauren, both 29, worked in Washington D.C. and both had office jobs. Jay worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Lauren worked in the Georgetown University admissions office. They both decided that they were wasting the best part of their lives working. As Jay put it on his blog before he quit his job, “I’ve grown tired of spending the best hours of my day in front of a glowing rectangle, of coloring the best years of my life in swaths of grey and beige. I’ve missed too many sunsets while my back was turned. Too many thunderstorms went unwatched, too many gentle breezes unnoticed.”
And so, giving up their steady jobs, this idealistic young couple, who were in the prime of their lives, embarked on a trip to cycle around the world. They recorded their yearlong experiences on Instagram and also a blog they both contributed to. Jay actually wrote in his blog: “You read the papers and you’re led to believe that the world is a big, scary place. People, the narrative goes, are not to be trusted. People are bad. People are evil.”
BREATH-TAKING STATEMENT, BREATH-TAKING MOMENT
Then he made this breath-taking statement: “I don’t buy it. Evil is a make-believe concept we’ve invented to deal with the complexities of fellow humans holding values and beliefs and perspectives different than our own. ... By and large, humans are kind. Self-interested sometimes, myopic sometimes, but kind. Generous and wonderful and kind.”
For much of their yearlong trip, this is exactly what they had experienced. Strangers were kind, thoughtful and generous towards them. But they were soon to discover that there is true evil in this world, and it would be the absolute death of them.
They were biking through Tajikistan, a country that borders Afghanistan, which has a strong presence of terrorists, ISIS included. On July 29, 2018, as they were cycling, a car rammed them, knocking them to the ground. Then five men got out and stabbed them to death, including two other cyclists who were with them — one from Switzerland and the other from the Netherlands. It was a brutal and horrific end to an adventure of a lifetime. It was also very, very evil. One can only imagine the terror that those cyclists must have felt in their last moments of life.
BELIEFS MATTER
Those men that brutally murdered these cyclists had a belief too. A few days later, ISIS released a video of those same five men sitting in front of their black flag with the statement that they were committed to killing “disbelievers.” As these cyclists found out by bitter experience, these terrorists held a belief that is absolutely deadly and also a danger to society.
It is a fact that every one of us has a belief as to our natures (whether we’re good or bad), as to the existence of God and as to the afterlife. We also have a belief as to whether the Bible is the Word of God, whether Jesus is the Son of God or whether salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. It is critical that what we believe is the truth! Our eternal well-being and happiness depend on it. When Jesus stood before Pilate, Pilate asked Jesus this question: “What is truth?” (John 18:3838Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. (John 18:38)). Then, not waiting for an answer, he turned and left the room. He really didn’t even care to know what truth is! Do you care? If so, when Jesus was praying to His Father before His crucifixion, He said, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:1717Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John 17:17)). Those of us who know Jesus as our own personal Savior can say that the Bible is the truth, the absolute, infallible, literal Word of God.
Sadly, people are turning away from the truth of the Bible in greater numbers than ever. A 2017 Barna Group study reveals that only 14% of Millennials (those born between 1980 and 1994) believe that the Bible is the literal Word of God. They also found that one in three Millennials believe that the Bible is “just another book.” Going farther than just not believing, researchers found that both Millennials and Generation Z (those born between 1995 and 2012) are actually more hostile to the Bible than previous generations. There is a reason for this, and the Bible tells us exactly what it is. “The god [Satan] of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:44In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:4)).
Evil and Its Answer
The fact that there is evil in this world is self-evident. Wars, bloodshed and violence, along with corruption and greed, cover the face of the globe. Jesus tells us that it is because our hearts are evil. “[Jesus] said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:20-2320And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. (Mark 7:20‑23)). But, you say, I’m not like that — I’m like the generous, wonderful and kind people that Jay and Lauren met on their trip! You may do good deeds, but in the sight of a holy, pure and sinless God there is none good, no, not one! “As it is written, there is none righteous [good], no, not one” (Romans 3:1010As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (Romans 3:10)). Because of this, “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)).
The truth is that our hearts are evil and that only faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ can cleanse them and make us fit for the presence of God in heaven. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). There is only ONE way to heaven — “Jesus saith ... I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father [God], but by Me” (John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)). Just as the evidence of evil is all around us, the evidence of God’s love is available to all who will receive it. God gives us the daily witness of creation and our consciences. There is the witness of His Word, the Bible. There is the fact of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus died for our sins so that we could have peace with God. If you are truly serious about being made right with God, then this is what God has to say to you. “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:1313And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)). Prove Him, and you’ll see that it is so! “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)).
We can’t wish away evil and we can’t pretend everyone can decide right and wrong for themselves. Consider that fact in The Theory of Relativity.