“Resist not evil” is an explicit Christian directive from the lips of Christ himself, though it is almost universally ignored and rejected by Christians. “It’s not practical. It doesn’t really mean what it says. It only applies to saints, not ordinary mortals. Etc., etc.” Honest, strong, Christians struggle and squirm like a hooked fish when they confront it; most quickly rationalize it away, usually with the prompt help of clergy that have never honestly confronted it themselves.

I’ve often been glad to free of this directive as non-Christian. I don’t have to play dodge ball with this commandment, rationalize it away or ignore it to get rid of the discomfort it imposes.

Yet, after reflection, I think there may be truth here. Franklin Wolff, in Experience and Philosophy , succinctly states it this way.

We never destroy anything by fighting it. A force that we fight may be temporarily crushed, because at the time we may be wielding a stronger force. But it remains true that we have won at the price of certain exhaustion, and meanwhile the opposing force rebuilds itself, partly out of the very force we have expended. Then it comes back on us when we are weak and may conquer us. No man escapes the law by simply dying physically before the rebound.

In subsequent paragraphs, Wolff explains that the task of restraining evil is best viewed as a task of training, and development of skill in transforming energy of evil into its higher mode of expression as good.

I think the crux of not resisting evil is similar to the premise of aikido, where the effort is to use the energy of an opponent’s attack to lead him into a choreographed physical stance where he can be controlled and restrained without doing harm and without being harmed. It is similar in some respects to restraining a child with a temper tantrum — not allowing the unhampered expression of hostility — training the child to behave responsibly — with no intent of injuring or destroying the child.

Perhaps this nuance between resistance and restraint is the key to understanding Christ’s directive while not remaining passive in the face of the evil. Martin Luther King, Gandhi, some in Nazi Germany, and even some fighting in WW II clearly acted to restrain evil without becoming embroiled in delusion about its destruction. Perhaps that is the key to social change which does not ratchet endlessly between the extremes that are usually encountered in political solutions. Perhaps that is the answer to the political disaster the current administration has foisted on a naive electorate. Restrain — train — don’t seek to destroy. Seek to redirect the energy of pro-life advocates into general care and protection of people already alive. Seek to restrain the severe mischief of corporations who are bleeding those who are the lifeblood of their future — at least in the long run — without working for the destruction of free enterprise.

Though this topic is easily related to external events, it is actually more important to those events inside our own mind. We do not need to destroy any part of ourselves — that is not the task. The task is temporary restraint until better elements replace the defective. The task is training and discipline, not a division of the self into “good” and “evil” with the self-righteous intent of destroying our internal evil twin. It is most of all compassion — understanding — without any mushiness about needs to done, or indulgence in the name of being kind.