Protecting Evil

“Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. Judges 20:13

Like most of us, I’m pretty good at identifying bad behavior in others, often while remaining blind to my own flaws. While I was struggling with my own addiction, I could easily identify and call out the bad behavior of my patients who were addicted. When I was eventually confronted with my addiction however, I denied its existence. This is just self-preservation. Admitting fault is always painful and, in the case of my drug addiction, was likely going to lead to severe consequences. So, like most of us, I protected my flaws, choosing to remain blind to them as long as I could.

This self-imposed blindness to fault doesn’t just occur on a personal level. I’m tempted to do it with anything or anyone with whom I’m personally invested. For instance, if one of my kids was involved in an altercation when in grade school, I naturally assumed my child was innocent and the other child was at fault. If someone I don’t know criticizes the organization for which I work, it’s my first impulse to defend my organization. When I give my support to a politician and then read about his or her bad behavior, because I’m invested in that person, I’m likely to dismiss the attack as fake news. When confronted with the evil on my side it’s my nature to deny its existence.

This is what happened in today’s passage. In the terrible story, which I detailed yesterday, some of the men from the tribe of Benjamin committed terrible atrocities against a woman. When word spread of their crimes, all of Israel confronted the tribe of Benjamin, demanding that the guilty men be handed over to face justice. The Benjaminites though, refused to admit fault, refused to hand the men over, and went to war, simply to protect their own evil. The tribe of Benjamin was vastly outnumbered (26,000 vs 400,000) but still, they stubbornly refused to admit their sin, and paid dearly for it, losing almost all their men in battle.

Though it’s my nature, protecting my own evil isn’t healthy. In the case of my drug addiction, I had to eventually admit the problem, or I was never going to find recovery. Though it’s painful to admit my faults and flaws, it causes far more damage to hide and protect them. Similarly, it does my child no good to protect him or her from consequence if he or she is at fault in that school fight. When confronted with the possibility that my employer may be wrong, I must be willing to consider it. And finally, when it comes to politicians whom I may support, I must be willing to call out bad behavior when I see it. It does no one any good to hide and protect the evil among us.