Race Against Evil

Race against Evil

Bible Blast: Read Romans 12:17-21

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Romans 12:21

Do you know anything about Adolf Hitler? He was an evil ruler in Germany in the early 1900s. He hated people of different races and religions. He wanted to prove to the world that people of other races were inferior—or not as good as—people like him. To prove his point, he hosted the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. He was hoping that his “perfect” athletes would win all the medals, leaving athletes of other colors and religions in their dust.

But there was Jesse Owens. This African-American man from Alabama proved Hitler wrong. He ended up winning four gold medals right in front of Hitler’s eyes in the 100-meter dash, long jump, 200-meter dash, and 400-meter relay, setting three records and tying one! Hitler refused to shake Jesse Owens’s hand in congratulations for his amazing accomplishments, but no one was surprised.

As a dark-skinned man, Jesse would probably have felt intimidated spending time in Nazi Germany, knowing Hitler was trying to eliminate all people like Jesse. But instead of giving in to fear, he gave his very best at the Olympics. Many people feel that Jesse Owens did his part to help overcome Hitler’s evil by winning those four gold medals.

When someone is mean to you or says hurtful things about you, it’s easy to want to “get even” by doing something mean back to her. Anyone can pursue revenge. God says getting even is not the way to handle it. He says we’re supposed to conquer evil by doing good. If a bully at school knows that when he’s rude to you you’ll start yelling at him, he’ll keep on bullying you. He’s trying to get you upset and make you respond in anger; that makes him happy. But if you hold your tongue and don’t respond to him, there’s a good chance he’ll get bored with picking on you and move on.

When you’re upset, don’t do what feels natural in that moment. Instead, take a moment, and ask God how you should respond.

Girl Gab: Mom, tell your daughter about a time when you were her age and someone was mean to you. Daughter, tell your mom about someone who isn’t very nice to you, and pray together that you’ll respond to that person’s evil by doing good.