Energizing the Emptiness

I was teaching my physics class the concept of heat transfer (and all the cool stuff that goes along with it) and we started talking about the fact that 'cold' doesn't really exist, it's just the absence of heat - and it's the same with dark and light, etc. We then got off on evil being the absence of God, not a creation of God (you can do these things in a Christian school) and it led into a great discussion.

They wanted to know how an inanimate, intangible entity such as evil could have so much power, and we came to the conclusion that all of the evil things such as hatred and bitterness and lust and unforgiveness and war must have an outside source that brings energy into it, and that outside source is each one of us. We animate these lifeless things. We give life to hatred and pain.

James 1:15 says that "when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."

I think I understand this - just as Christ breathes new life into us when we are born again, we can breathe life into sin and death. They just sit there, but we "conceive and give birth to sin" when we engage in them.

This really makes me think . . . that my thoughts alone can bring evil to life. I must remain in Him and remember that I "have the mind of Christ." I must dwell on the things that are good and fair and pure and righteous. I can't let my mind bring energy to the darkness.