Let’s be real—we’re on one side or the other. There is no neutral. You’re either a force for good in the world, or you’re aiding and abetting the other side.
There is real evil in this world. If you don’t believe me, take a look at human trafficking, especially the trafficking of children for labor and sex, throughout the world. And if you think that’s happening in “other places” that don’t concern you, think again. Every human being who is enslaved and used for the pleasure of others diminishes us all. And it is happening right here in the United States, often in little towns where you would never think this heinous crime could occur.
There are many other manifestations of evil all around us. Sadly, we’ve become desensitized to much of it. There are homeless mothers with small children in grocery store parking lots asking for help, people with untreated mental illness who aren’t able to properly
care for themselves, teenagers who join gangs to feel a sense of camaraderie and belonging, people who use drugs and alcohol to medicate their pain, people who engage in criminal activity, and on and on it goes. The societal ills that affect the lives of these people harm all of us.
If we are not a force for good, we are doing nothing to fight the evil around us. When we do nothing, evil grows unchecked.
“The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing.” --President John F. Kennedy
I’m not writing this so that you’ll join something, start a hashtag campaign on social media, send money, or do any of the things that we do to make ourselves feel a little bit better before moving on to the next thing. I’m writing this in the hopes that everyone who reads this will decide to fight evil right here, right now, wherever they are. How?
We overcome evil with good. So be good. Be the best human you can be. YOU MATTER. The goodness in you matters.
Be moral. Be caring. Be understanding. Be nurturing. Be hopeful. Be awesome.
Be genuinely kind to everyone within your influence—not just to the people who are kind to you. When you do that every day of your life, you are actively fighting evil, and you’re setting an example for everyone within your influence on how to be a good human, how to live a good life, and how to fight evil in their own personal way.
Are you with me? If so, please share this on social media and tag me @rhondasciortino.
I was told that I "would never amount to anything" and that "no one would ever want me." I believed it. So I worked hard to try to "be something" and to do good in the world thinking that would make me valuable. In my 30+ years of advocacy for children who have been abused, I have seen many kids who were told those same kinds of things, but sadly, instead of striving to be their best, they got involved in crime and drugs. Often the difference between kids who choose well and those that don't is that kids who choose good have at least one person who believes in them. So while you're being a force for good, please remember to do it with the young people within your influence.
This podcast will help you find and live your purpose and enjoy the peace and joy that accompanies it. Subscribe now and share this with a friend. Find Your Purpose Now is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Iheartradio, Amazon music, Overcast, Castbox, Pocket Casts, Radio Public, and right here at www.rhonda.org/podcast.
Rhonda Sciortino, author of Succeed Because of What You’ve Been Through and many other books, was abused for the first 16 years of her life. She credits a brief stay with a wonderful foster family for introducing her to Jesus and for teaching her that there was a better way to live and that she was not “an accident of biology,” but that God had a specific plan for her life.
At 27 years old, Rhonda left what she thought would be her “job for life” to open her own insurance organization that protected and defended the good people and organizations that care for children who have been abused. She used the survival skills developed throughout her childhood to grow her business into a nationwide organization that analyzed the ways that children and caregivers get injured or killed in foster care. That information was built into risk avoidance strategies, which helped prevent tragedies.
Rhonda sold her business and is now helping others find their purpose. Through her speaking, writing, videos, FIND YOUR PURPOSE NOW podcast, and YOUR REAL SUCCESS program, she helps others use the obstacles in their lives as stepping stones to living God’s good purpose. Rhonda believes that using our hard times to glorify God is the fulfillment of Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”
Rhonda is the founder of Successful Survivors Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps survivors of trauma to create purposeful lives. She is the national champion of the Love Is Action Community Initiative, which is a public/private, faith-based community initiative that gives everyone safe and effective ways to help prevent child abuse and trafficking, suicide, homelessness, and other societal ills that harm us all.
For more information on Rhonda, go to www.rhonda.org. For information on Successful Survivors Foundation, go to www.successfulsurvivors.org. To learn about the Love Is Action Community Initiative, go to www.loveisaction.com.
Rhonda calls herself a “fully yielded follower of Christ,” which she defines as someone who says, “YOUR WILL BE DONE,” and really means it.
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