“All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing” (Edmund Burke).

Thanks to Glenn today in our lecture on Ethics for this Burke quote. He mentioned too of the ‘sin of omission’ which is as harmful to our spiritual being as the sins we commit. Interesting one for us to comprehend. The passage that immediately came to mind was that of John 15:1 – 4 which says;

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you”. 

So, as we know, those of us who are not allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us are not producing fruit. But if we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, shape us, and work through us he begins to prune away the sins which mar our ability to grow. We then allow him to assist us in becoming more fruitful, and to allow the current of the power of Christ to work through us to those around us.

What Burke seems to be saying is that we need take cognizance both of being aware of the evil that we allow to permeate our lives, and of the good we, by our own choice, choose not to do.