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When I was growing up, a placard on the wall read, "All that is necessary for evil to rule the world is for enough good men to do nothing."
At the time, I only saw the issue of acting to preserve moral decency in our democratic culture. It wasn't until I became a follower of Christ in my twenties that I began to understand the deeper relevance of the message: that only when we share Christ with others can we change their hearts and influence the world for change.
Ravi Zacharias makes this point often as he discusses the growing problem of wickedness in the world. Ravi makes it clear that we need not wait for someone else to take control of the situation. Each of us has the responsibility, and the power--through the Holy Spirit--to make an impact that counts. To illustrate this, he uses the example of young Josiah responding to the evil brought upon the Jews by Manasseh.
Israel's darkest days
The evil reign of king Manasseh had caused Israel to fall into a declining spiral resulting in her darkest days. Manasseh sacrificed his own child to the detestable fires of Molech. He set up places of worship to false gods and had holy men killed. He sneered at God and plunged the nation into wickedness. Only at the end of his life did he look back and realize what damage he had wrought, at which time it was too late for him to change the nation.
Read the account of Josiah in 2 Chronicles 34-35.
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