Job 1:1
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
When God bragged on Job, there were four attributes that caught God’s attention. Job was a man who was a perfect man. Perfect does not mean that he was sinless, but that he was balanced in life. God noticed that Job was an upright man. In other words, Job was honest in all that he did. God also noticed that Job feared God. Job’s view of God caused him to fear God, which is likely why God so respected this man.
However, there is one characteristic of Job that ought to be mentioned and explained. The fourth characteristic that caught God’s attention was that he eschewed evil. This did not say that he eschewed sin, but that he eschewed evil. There is a difference between sin and evil. Sin is doing wrong, but evil is a greater degree of sin. Evil is doing wrong with the intent to hurt someone. In other words, Job eschewed doing anything that would hurt others.
If eschewing evil was noticed by God, we must learn what it means to eschew. The word eschewed means to abstain from, to steer clear of, or to have nothing to do with something. In other words, God loved that Job did all in his power to avoid evil. If eschewing evil is an attribute that God likes, that means every believer ought to eschew evil. Let me share three ways to eschew evil.
First, you should avoid being a source of evil. You should do everything in your power never to retaliate or respond in a manner that your intention is to hurt someone. It does not matter what someone has done to you; you should abstain or steer clear of doing anything to someone with the intent to hurt them. It does not matter if you have the goods on someone; if you want to eschew evil to get God’s favor on your life, you should never be the source that intends to hurt someone no matter what they have done to you.
Second, you will avoid being the carrier of evil when you eschew it. There is a difference between being the source of evil and being the carrier of it. Being the carrier of evil means to spread what the source of evil did to someone. I would hate to think that my tongue is the vehicle that carries the gossip about others. It does not matter if it is true; your tongue should never be the vehicle that evil rides upon. Likewise, I would hate to think my fingers are the carrier of evil. There are many people who may not say something with their tongue, but they type it on social media with their fingers. It matters not what vehicle you use to carry evil; it is evil to spread it to others.
Third, you will avoid being the consumer of evil if you eschew it. Evil has no place to land if you avoid the vehicles that spread it. There are many vehicles that spread evil, but when you eschew it, you will avoid any platform or person who chooses to spread or do evil.
Life is too short to let evil be a part of your life, whether by doing it, spreading it, or consuming it. I would much rather be the vehicle that spreads the good news of the Gospel and about people than be the agent through which evil is spread. We will always fight sin as long as we live, but we must avoid any presence of evil in our lives. Evil will have no place in your life when your life is about spreading the good.