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I have basic axioms, and one of them is the popular, “Flee from the appearance of evil.” I have most definitely written on it in passing, but the thing about my axioms is that they keep evolving. So when my coach questioned this line I throw around in a conversation today, it was an opportunity to expand what I actually held.

My interpretation of “flee from the appearance of evil” had been hinged on this: if it looks like evil, run. Don’t begin to investigate it, don’t try to discover how bad it really is, just go the other direction.

Anyways, the initial Scripture this was picked from is 1 Thessalonians 5:22: “Stay away from every kind of evil.” So I decided to check out the Greek word used there. The Greek word often translated as “appearance” is εἴδους (eidous), from εἶδος (eidos).

εἶδος literally means “form,” “kind,” “sort,” or “appearance.”

So essentially, that verse of Scripture wasn't just telling us to bolt whenever something looks like evil. It is telling us to flee from every kind of evil, every form of it, every sort of it, however it appears.

In the words of my coach, “Flee unpopular evil as much as you flee popular evil.”

And then, let's take a step back to the two verses before it. It reads, “Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test them all; hold on to what is good, stay away from every kind of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:20–22.

This gives a better picture, a bigger look at what Paul was saying. We are not simply being asked to flee. We are first asked to test.

The Greek word for “test” here is δοκιμάζω (dokimazō), which means to test, examine, scrutinize, prove, or determine whether something is genuine and acceptable.

And I think that changes something for me.

It means I don't have to call something evil simply because it looks unfamiliar, unpopular, uncomfortable, or different from what I have always known. I can examine it. I can test it. I can discern it.

And when I find it to be evil, then I flee it.

There is wisdom in fleeing from evil, but there is also wisdom in knowing what evil actually is. Because if I flee everything that merely looks strange to me, I might mistake unfamiliarity for evil. And if I accept everything that looks good, I might hold onto something that is evil simply because it wears a convincing disguise.

So perhaps the axiom is not simply, “Flee from the appearance of evil.”

Perhaps it is: Test everything. Hold on to what is good. Flee every form of evil.

Dearest reader, I think discernment is one of those things we often want to skip because it takes work. It is easier to label something good or evil based on how it looks, how popular it is, or how uncomfortable it makes us. But what if God is asking us to be more discerning than that? What if some things need to be examined before they are embraced or rejected? And when you have tested it, what are you holding onto simply because it looks good, and what are you refusing to flee simply because everyone else has made peace with it?

@favvy_Okwans🖤.