Biblegems
#296
Pass this on, and save a lot of people the
anguish of tortured explanations the next time someone asks, “What does it mean
to avoid the appearance of evil”? Because what the text actually says and means
is “Get far away from every kind of evil!”
Image: Natural Law
by Jeff ArrowoodHaiku Deck1024 × 768Search by
image Do Good, Avoid Evil
Question: What is meant in the Bible by the
instruction to “avoid even the appearance of evil?”
The
question refers to 1 Thessalonians 5:22, from the King James Version: “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
It’s a
good question, because living that out in the real world would seem to require
either an impossible effort at “people pleasing,” or else the undesirable
prospect of living in perpetual fear of doing the least little thing wrong. The
first grants permission for every person to act as our judge, and the second
turns us into Pharisees!
To avoid
either unpleasant option, the way the verse is typically approached is to treat
it more like a proverb than a specific instruction. Understood this way, “avoid even the appearance of evil” becomes a general admonition
similar to “be above reproach” (1Tim.
3:2), or “Blessed is the one who does not
walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners
take or sit in the company of mockers” (Ps. 1:1).
While
such an interpretation will not steer a person wrong, it does miss the very
specific instruction the apostle Paul intended. So what’s the answer?
The
answer lies in the translation of the word Greek word “eidous,” and in the context of the passage.
The word “eidous” in English means “form,” or “kind,” and can be used either literally (i.e., “shape,” “form”
or “kind”) or figuratively (i.e.,
“appearance,” or “impression”).
Even the
English words can have either a literal or figurative meaning, depending on the
context. We can say, for example, “Joe Schmo suddenly appeared,” or “everyone at the party appeared to enjoy themselves.” The first is literal—Joe came into
view; the second is figurative: “appeared” means, “gave the impression.” If in
the King James Version “appearance”
is intended to be understood literally rather than figuratively, the meaning is
to “abstain from every kind of
evil.” That’s quite a bit different than abstaining from everything that
might look like evil—which is how we
usually treat the verse!
So what
does the context tell us?
The
beginning of the paragraph, 1 Thessalonians 5:19, instructs us not to “quench the Spirit.” Then verses 20-22
give specific bullet points on how to avoid quenching the Spirit:
• “Do not
treat prophecies with contempt” (20)
• “Test
them all” (21a)
• “Hold
on to what is good” (21b)
•
“Abstain from every kind (eidous)
of evil” (22)
Clearly, edous indicates that evil (literally) is
to be avoided. In fact, “avoided” is
too mild a term. The Greek word is in the imperative form and means “get far away from”! The NIV (2011)
accurately translates it this way: “reject every
kind of evil.”
