Pretty Little Liars fans have enjoyed, or maybe even hated, the havoc that the dreaded “A” has been bringing to the lives of Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hannah. “A” just won’t seem to leave them alone, and is quite literally destroying their lives. Whoever “A” is, and believe me I’m dying to know who it is, he/she seems to be downright evil…almost like Allison herself. As the episodes progress and we learn more about Allison, she seems more evil by the minute. Did she ever do anything that wasn’t manipulative towards one of her “friends?” Both “A” and Allison seem to be straight up evil characters that the world would be better without.
This past Monday’s episode brought up the question “Are some people born evil, or do they learn it?” The episode seemed to leave the question open, perhaps leaning slightly on the side of people being born evil. I mean I don’t remember “A” or Allison ever doing anything good, could there be any good in them at all? I think we also have people like this in our own lives. Think about it…is there anyone you know that you just can’t seem to find any good in? We all have “enemies” in our lives: a.k.a. the person that always makes my life more difficult. Wouldn’t it just be so much easier if he/she would just disappear?
Yeah…unfortunately we all have people like this in our lives, it’s impossible to have a perfect relationship with everyone, but the question remains “Are some people born evil, or do they learn it?” Luckily for us, the bible gives us a very clear answer to this question. Going back to the very first chapter of the book of Genesis we see that “God looked at everything he had made and found it very good” (Gen 1:31). God doesn’t create evil. God was pleased with all of his creation. However, when God creates humans he takes this goodness to another level, “God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). God created us with a goodness beyond that of everything else. He made us in his own image and likeness. We are more like God than any other creature on the planet. Could any human person be born evil? The book of Genesis would say absolutely not, God does not create evil.
This is a concept that Jesus understood perfectly. In the Gospels he tells us very clearly “You have heard that it was said, ‘you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44). People who appear to be our “enemies” are still good at their core; they were still made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore Jesus decides to challenge us here to look past the external things makes someone appear to be an “enemy”, and see the goodness of God within that person. People like “A”, or Allison, or that person in our lives that just doesn’t seem capable of doing any good in their lives are still beloved children of God. Despite their sins, God loves that person enough to die on the cross for him/her. Loving our enemies is not an easy thing, but as St. Paul says “I have the strength for everything though Him who empowers me” (Philippians 4:13).
“Heavenly Father, thank you for creating me, for giving me life, for making me in your own image and likeness. You never fail to show your unending love for me, and for all of humanity. Help me, guide me, strengthen me as I try to follow Christ’s teaching and love my enemies. Help me to see those around me, especially those that I find the hardest to love, as you see them, as beloved sons and daughters.”
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