One of the challenges most of us face is that of how to stop thinking evil thoughts. They seem to appear out of nowhere, sometimes they stop by briefly, or at other times may linger on for many days, weeks, and sometimes years. At times, they are the result of some evil cherished in the heart, or at times they may be triggered by something someone said or has done. But whatever the source, many of us seem to be plagued by evil thoughts from time to time.
Grudges and biases held over a period of time seem to foment to the point where a settled premonition of evil to someone is always on the table. In other instances, we may not feel comfortable with the “Vibrations” of another individual, and as a result we may erroneously judge their actions, motives, and intentions.
Racial biases, cultural prejudices often cause some to draw wrong conclusions of others, whilst other individuals may be suspected of bad motives just by their manner of dress. However, good people often live in bad neighborhoods and bad people often do live in good neighborhoods. God requires that we refrain from thinking evil of others, just because of time, place, culture, or race.
A person who pays for a $2000.00 job with one and five-dollar bills is not necessarily a drug dealer, for he could also have owned many vending machines. There are people who may be covered with tattoos, who are quite gentle and respectful to others whilst persons who are dressed decently might be robbers in sheep’s clothing. As Christians, God desires that we give the benefit of the doubt, and not judge our fellowmen on mere “Gut” feeling.
So, the practice of evil surmising is by far the most common form of evil thinking, by which we assume that our assessment of someone is correct; thus, we pass judgments in our minds, which then spill over into our actions, and before you know it, the person is being fed with a long spoon at arm’s length, from the pot of suspicion. Then again, we may even go so far as to settle on a certain course of antagonism, if our premonitions come true.
All of these variations of evil thinking ought to be uprooted from our hearts by the grace of God, for the general tenor of the Christian’s mindset, should always be to give the benefit of the doubt, always seeking to place the most favorable construction on the motives and actions of others. In other words, to think no evil should be the aspiration of everyone who has Christ as Savior and Lord, knowing that we ourselves exist only by His grace.
In addition, there are several passages of scripture which deal with the recurrence of evil thoughts and desires, since out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and actions usually follow thoughts like clockwork. To look on the brighter side, to dwell on the positive aspects of someone’s character, and to refrain from drawing negative conclusions with no conclusive evidence should be the motif of every Christian. Let’s read:
Matthew 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man….
Psalms 19:12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. 14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
1st Corinthians 13: 4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Sometimes the tenor of our thoughts can take on a very dark hue, with our suspicion always seeking to justify our premonition. Records of wrongs done to ourselves, or slights shown to our persons, and the disposition to argue a point until we prevail, are all productive of evil thoughts, which once indulged, often resurface at random from our memory bank.
Therefore, we will focus our attention on the most common form of evil thinking, which is described in the Bible as “Evil surmising”.
Surmise: To suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it.
"he surmised that something must be wrong"
Synonyms: to guess, conjecture, suspect, deduce, infer, conclude, theorize, speculate, etc.
This particular trait of character became evident in the life of Saul, who indulged in suspicion of David, suspicion of his own son Jonathan, and frequently was disposed to interpret everything and everyone as being against him. His own generals were often accused by him in his mind, and he saw in everyone, and in everything, an adversary rather than a friend.
He was constantly searching for faults in others, and if there were none, he would conjecture as to what this, or that individual was capable of doing, or was intending to do, all without having any hard facts to substantiate his conclusions. For this reason, an evil attitude tarnished all of his interactions with family, friends, and foes. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 18:7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
1st Samuel 20:30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?
1st Samuel 22:7 Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;
8 That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 650] Saul had not learned, while ruling the kingdom of Israel, that he should rule his own spirit. He allowed his impulses to control his judgment, until he was plunged into a fury of passion. He had paroxysms of rage, when he was ready to take the life of any who dared oppose his will. From this frenzy he would pass into a state of despondency and self-contempt, and remorse would take possession of his soul.
The same evil of surmising lay at the root of those arguments between the disciples. Some thought that James and John were secretly trying to gain the highest place in the kingdom. Others thought that the best offices in the church were being sought by some, and before you know it, there was a settled uneasiness between the brethren. Thus suspicion, conjecture, and premonition gave birth to jealousy faultfinding, and arrogance. Let’s read:
[The Desire Of Ages pp 643>644] There was “a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.” They had placed their own estimate upon themselves and upon one another and instead of regarding their brethren as more worthy, they had placed themselves first.
The request of James and John to sit on the right and left of Christ's throne had excited the indignation of the others. That the two brothers should presume to ask for the highest position so stirred the ten that alienation threatened. They felt that they were misjudged, that their fidelity and talents were not appreciated.
When the disciples entered the supper room, their hearts were full of resentful feelings. The pitcher, the basin, and the towel were there, in readiness for the feet washing; But each of the disciples, yielding to wounded pride, determined not to act the part of a servant. All manifested a stoical unconcern, seeming unconscious that there was anything for them to do. By their silence they refused to humble themselves.
Therefore, there are several lessons we can learn from the bad experiences of those who have gone before. Especially is this the case now in our day, when the same spirit of evil surmising, erroneous conjecturing, fault-finding, suspicion, speculation, conspiracy, and every evil premonition, have now invaded the higher, and lower echelons of society, and sadly is also a problem in the church.
[1] If positive, or negative vibrations may seem to emanate from a person, we should avoid judging, based solely on vibrations, for two main reasons: God does not judge by vibrations, and we can be dead wrong in our conclusions. There are sinners who can speak well and make an outward show of piety. And then there are genuine Christians, who because of past experiences, may not reflect the radiance of those who have not known much evil.
Let us make certain not to draw our conclusions by mere premonition, because human intuition can be faulty at times. Instead, let us hope all things, and believe all things, with the sunshine of God’s love radiating freely to all with whom we may come in contact. Let’s read:
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
1st Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
[Test vol 5, pp 168>169] Love is unsuspecting, ever placing the most favorable construction upon the motives and acts of others. Love never needlessly exposes the faults of others. It does not listen eagerly to unfavorable reports, but rather seeks to bring to mind some good qualities of the one defamed.
[2] Do not keep a record of wrongs, and grudges. If someone has said, or done something wrong, the Christlike reaction should be to cover a multitude of sins, instead of storing the record of his/ her failures to use at some future time, when we believe our premonitions will become reality. As Christians we should interpret everything, and everyone in the positive, and if for some reason we are wrong, then we should hope for the best. Let’s read:
1st Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
[Christian Service pp 49] There are precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal. But, it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed. In the daytime we look toward heaven, but do not see stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine luster.
[3] Often the faults we see in others are a reflection of our own struggles, and therefore, it is important that we be humble enough to forgive and forget. It is by beholding the perfection of Christ that we are changed from one stage of development to another if we would only refrain from dwelling on what we think may be the evil intentions of others. Let’s read:
Matthew 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
[4] The elimination of evil thoughts, and surmising can only be accomplished through the grace, and the power of Christ, in harmony with our freedom of choice, because it is an abstract problem, that is often cherished without any visible manifestation. We must ask God to cleanse us from harboring evil thoughts about others whether we are in the wrong or in the right, in our premonitions. Let’s read:
Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
It is of critical importance now, as the final effort to save a lost world is being ramped up in heaven and on earth, that we reflect the image of Christ, both internally and externally. Evil surmising, with all of its attendant evils such as prejudging persons, will hamper us in our efforts to save kings, priests, John Does and harlots, for whom Jesus Christ has shed His blood.
Let us therefore live in the sunshine of His presence while we seek to eliminate evil thoughts from our minds, for it is the work of The Holy Spirit to implant the mind of Christ in each and every believer. We end with a quotation, that should encourage us all in the accomplishment of that purpose. Let’s read:
[The Great Controversy pp 622>623] Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ. Not even by a thought could our Savior be brought to yield to the power of temptation. Satan finds in human hearts some point where he can gain a foot-hold; some sinful desire is cherished, by means of which his temptations assert their power.
But Christ declared of himself, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble.
God Bless!