“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9) Most Christians who read this passage probably think they are following it pretty well. Abhorring that which is evil is fairly easy. We watch the news and see all the wickedness and sin and we are disgusted. We do not like evilness.  But I think the tricky part to follow in this passage is “Cling to what is good”. The word “cling” means, “To hold fast or adhere to something, as by grasping, sticking, embracing, or entwining. To remain close; resist separation” (thefreedictionary.com). Thankfully, I have never had to experience this, but have you seen on movies where someone is falling from a cliff or high tower and they grab a hold of someone’s hand or a rope? They are clinging to it for dear life! This is the picture we need to have in our heads as we try to decide how seriously we are clinging to goodness. How strong of a hold do we have on all things good? Are we stuck so hard to goodness that it is as if we glued ourselves to it? Are we holding onto goodness and godliness as if our life depended on it? Abhorring what is evil is great, and what we should be doing. But we cannot just stop there. If we dislike all the evil and get it out of our lives, we need to fill those spots with something. This world is too full of wickedness and evil that if we are not careful and fill our lives with good, then the wickedness will creep back in.

If we are really clinging to what is good then it will show in our lives. Romans 12:10-20 gives us a list of good things to do. Among them are taking care of our fellow brothers and sisters, praying, blessing those who persecute us, not repaying evil for evil, being humble, and many more. If we are constantly clinging to that which is good, then living a godly life will come much easier to us.  We will make the right choices and we will do the acts that God wishes of us. Not only will this keep us safe in God’s protection, but others will see His light shine through us.

We cannot just say that we dislike the evil of this world we must also fill our lives with goodness. This world will overtake us if we are not holding onto the goodness of God for dear life! It is our life-saver. We will lose our grip on goodness if we do not fill our lives with it. Romans 12:21 leaves us with this: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

By Alicia Bookout
Alicia and her husband, Garrett live in Clovis, NM where Garrett is the pulpit minister for 16th and Pile church of Christ. They have one sweet two-year old daughter, Emma. Alicia is a stay-at-home wife and mother. They both graduated from the Bear Valley Institute of Denver.