Is there evil in the human being?

Good morning, happy Thursday and blessings.

Many times, I wonder: really, is there evil in the human being? Are there bad people? I think that evil exists, because if not, certain acts could not be described as evil. But before this evil is the formula that the Apostle Paul gives us when he tells us in the book of Romans 12:21: Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Do not overcome evil with evil. Indeed, whoever works like this, instead of defeating evil, is defeated by evil. It is necessary first of all to understand that goodness, honesty and sincerity are not virtues, they are obligations. There is no merit in that.

Although evil seems to gain ground, in the end it ends up destroyed. History shows us that over time the bad is discovered and defeated, it has happened in empires, in governments, in families, in businesses, in the church, in short, in all areas of life.

But, nevertheless, I don't think the whole explanation should be that there are bad people. I think that the human being who does "evil" in an intentional way, is not a "bad" person, but sick. Sick, because s/he could be acting defensively, detecting aggressions where there are none. Sick, because it may be difficult to differentiate what is right, what is wrong and that is why s/he carries out these acts intentionally.

There are at least five characteristics of these sick people that we can identify: 1) They live according to their own rules, what they say is law and they are not interested in other moral norms. 2) They like to generate confusion and conflicts, that is, they are people who invent false stories with which they can manipulate reality. 3) Being convinced that their actions are correct and fair, they will never regret having done so. 4) They love to manipulate and will not stop until they get what they want. 5) They will always try to like all people to victimize and achieve their goal. 

Our flesh wants to do evil to those who have hurt or mistreated our family, friends, or ourselves. But if we nest in our being rejection, bitterness and resentment, we are allowing bad seed to be sown in our heart and that this, sooner or later will bear its fruits full of deadly poison, contaminating us and at the same time, contaminating us to other people. There is a painful reality; Some problems have no cure in this life, only treatment. However, do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Blessings

Fr. Luis +