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When Good Men Do Nothing

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil
is that good men do nothing.”(Edmund Burke)

When Good Men Do Nothing

So much of the history of the struggle between good and evil can be explained by Edmund Burke’s observation. Time and again those who profess to be good seem to clearly outnumber those who are evil, yet those who are evil seem to prevail far too often. Seldom is it the numbers that determine the outcome, but whether those who claim to be good men are willing to stand up and fight for what they know to be right. There are numerous examples of this sad and awful scenario being played out over and over again in the scriptures.

“In my estimation, there has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden’s release of NSA material – and that definitely includes the Pentagon Papers 40 years ago. Snowden’s whistleblowing gives us the possibility to roll back a key part of what has amounted to an “executive coup” against the US constitution.” ( Daniel Ellsberg, whistleblower of the Whitehouse papers).

They Get Nothing Good Done

When good men do nothing, they get nothing good done. To be good, one must do good. The Lord commands his people to do good. Messiah “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).

In the parable of the talents, Yeshua described a man who did nothing. When he received his Lord’s money, he “went and digged in the earth, and hid his Lord’s money” (Matt. 25:18). When his Lord returned, he returned to the Lord just what he had been given (Matt. 25:25). Notice, the servant did not do any outright evil, such as stealing the money, but then neither did he do anything good. He did nothing and he got nothing good accomplished. Yeshua said he was a “wicked and slothful servant” (Matt. 25:26).

Too many Christians and too many churches do nothing. They are standing idly by, they are mere spectators. They sit on the sidelines instead of actively participating and working for the good. If good wins, they join in the celebration though they did nothing to produce the victory. If evil wins, they will complain long and loud though their own apathy helped produce the undesirable result.

When Yeshua found a fig tree with “nothing thereon, but leaves only” He cursed the tree and “presently the fig tree withered away” (Matt. 21:19). What will He do with those who claim to be good and yet who do nothing? John the Baptist warned, “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Matt. 3:10)

They Help Evil To Triumph

When good men do nothing, evil triumphs. Evil, sin and sinful men must be opposed. God commands those who are good, not just to avoid evil but actively oppose it.

Christians are to not only to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but (also) reprove them” (Eph. 5:11). Those who do nothing about sin and evil, help the sin and evil to prevail. One who is silent when there are those around him in sin becomes a partaker with them (Eph. 5:7).

In the days of Elijah, the silence of many had allowed the evil of Ahab and Jezebel to prevail throughout the land of Israel. “And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word” (1 Kings 18:21). The silence of the people spoke volumes of their indecisiveness and inaction. Their failure to stand up, speak up and speak out permitted wicked and evil men to run rampant.

Yeshua told of a traveler who was robbed, beaten and left him half dead. The men who did this were wicked and did a very wicked thing. But the Levite and priest allowed this evil to continue unanswered by doing nothing as they each “passed by on the other side” (Luke 10:31-32). Fortunately for the traveler there was one man, a Samaritan, who was willing to stand up for what was right (Luke 10:33-36).

Yeshua warned “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Matt. 12:30). In the fight against evil there is no middle ground, no gray area, no neutrality. Those who are not actively and vigorously fighting against evil are helping evil to triumph.

They Are No Longer Good

When good men do nothing, they are no longer good. Many have the mistaken notion that good is merely the absence of doing that which is wrong. Not so! One is good not merely because he does no evil, but because he is actively working for what is good. “Let him eschew evil, and do good” (1 Pet. 3:11). James explained, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).

The eldest of Israel, Reuben, knew his brothers’ murderous plot against their younger brother Joseph was wrong. He started an attempt to deliver Joseph, but as he hesitated and vacillated, the other brothers sold Joseph into slavery. When Reuben heard what they had done, he realized his failure to act had helped to bring about this evil result.

Instead of correcting his error, Reuben sought to cover his guilt by agreeing with his brothers to lie to their father about Joseph’s disappearance (Gen. 37:18-35). Reuben had “good intentions” and he was not even present when Joseph was sold into slavery, but he knew his inaction and absence made him just as guilty as the rest of his wicked brothers. This guilt continued to haunt him through the years (Gen. 42:21-22).

Today, there are preachers and Christians who fail and refuse to meet the real foe, refute error and fight the enemy. Their failure to act not only allows evil to triumph, but makes them just as guilty… In God’s own words, “even thou wast as one of them” (Obad. 11).

Conclusion

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Those who fail or refuse to do good in the face of evil are sowing some dangerous seeds. They are doing nothing good as Yeshua commanded them to do; they are helping evil to win and have ceased being good and have become partakers of the evil they did nothing to stop.

Do not allow evil to triumph. Do not sit by and do nothing. Stand up and be counted, speak up against evil and speak out against evil men and their sinful deeds. (by Wayne Greeson)

Here is someone who DID SOMTHING…

Whistleblower Eduard Snowden

This individual is responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history. Edward Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell.

From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. “I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong,” he said.

Having watched the Obama administration prosecute whistleblowers at a historically unprecedented rate, Snowden fully expects the US government to attempt to use all its weight to punish him. “I am not afraid,” he said calmly, “because this is the choice I’ve made.”

Mr Snowden told the Guardian: “The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything. With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting.

“If I wanted to see your emails or your wife’s phone, all I have to do is use intercepts. I can get your emails, passwords, phone records, credit cards.

“I don’t want to live in a society that does these sort of things… I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under.”

He predicts the government will launch an investigation and “say I have broken the Espionage Act and helped our enemies, but that can be used against anyone who points out how massive and invasive the system has become”.

“The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight.” and this is just the beginning… Edward Snowden

We wanted to share some good new with you in that the Lord has provided for us a 40 Ft container of Humanitarian Aid full of clothing, toys, bedding along with other aid items. A Humanitarian Aid Organization in Holland called Gain International has graciously agreed to supply our warehouse with quality aid for the needy. This is a big answer to prayer for us because our supplier from Sweden recently informed us they will no longer be able to send any containers to Israel…

This container was loaded last week in Amsterdam and should be at our warehouse center in July and ready for distribution. Please pray for all shipping and custom logistics and finances to cover the costs.

We also wanted to send some pictures of some of those we have helped this month at our FZS warehouse in order to give you an idea of our clothing distribution program that blesses the needy…

Blessings soldiers

We see many happy mothers

Happy ladies in uniform

This mother is also blessed!

And finally we wanted to say, Thank you for being a blessing to many in Israel!