Have you ever seen a really bad person – someone so evil that you can feel it?
Throughout the course of our lives, we are bound to run into people who are evil. Corruption is a common thing with various individuals walking around like normal people. They are not always the thug down the street. They can come in many different forms – rich, poor, smart, slow, beautiful, ugly, skinny, fat …. you get the point. But have you ever come across someone who was so evil that you could feel it? I’m talking about someone who makes it their life’s work to hurt as many people as they can. Someone who does not mind inflicting pain on others. If you are lucky enough, you never will run into that type of person. But how do you respond if you do? What do you do if they come after you? Those are not questions to be asking yourself after it happens.
No Escape
The best way to know what to do when/if you are ever confronted with a person like that is to learn from the actions of others. “A smart man learns from his own mistakes, but a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” Take a look at the movie No Escape. (Yes… I am talking about another movie… No, my next topic is not about a movie too.)
You start out with a regular American family who relocates to Southeast Asia for the father’s job. Unfortunately, the company that the father works for sent him and his family directly into a political rebellion. “Armed rebels attack the hotel where they’re staying, ordered to kill any foreigners that they encounter. Amid utter chaos, Jack [the father] must find a way to save himself and his loved ones from the violence erupting all around them.”
Death is everywhere. People are getting shot left and right. What could possibly get any worse? – Add two children who don’t listen and a wife who is constantly making things worse. Several times during the course of the movie, someone in their family was acting irrationally. It was a miracle they made it out alive. Something that would not have happened at all had they not had help.
Have a Plan
Your family needs to have a plan. How many times at school do the teachers stress procedures on what to do if there is a fire or an earthquake? I’ve never heard of a school that didn’t have a plan for what to do if something like that were to happen. How many times do the teachers send home the students with suggestions to make a fire plan at home? They talk about the importance of knowing what to do should your house catch on fire. Why you don’t run back in the building and why your family needs to have a meeting spot so that everyone can be accounted for.
Imagine the chaos that would result from a huge fire inside a school building without an evacuation plan. How could you account for all the students when they are running every which way? How do you know who is missing and who isn’t when nothing is organized? Having a plan of your own in case of danger is just as important.
Many would say, “That’s not going to happen. We are safe, there is no need to worry.” Are you willing to take the risk? You don’t build a fire plan with the expectation that your house will catch on fire. Just as you don’t have an emergency plan while expecting an emergency. It is important to plan for the worst and hope for the best.
Do your children know what to do if you get shot? Does your wife know what to do if there was a gun to your head? Those are impotant questions to address.
Obedience
Having unruly children is not a laughing matter. Too many parents let their children talk back to them when they are asked to do something. If your children won’t listen to you when you ask them to do something small, do you think that they will listen to you when you ask them to do something big? Be consistent with your children. Do not let them talk back and do not let them ignore you when you ask them to do something. Believe it or not, someday it may be a matter of life and death. At worst, your children will grow up knowing how to treat other people with respect and won’t end up like so many others who think that they can walk all over anyone they please without a care as to who it hurts.
Does your child run from you when you ask them to come? That is a dangerous habit.
When Faced with Evil
The best way to handle evil is to not be where evil typically goes. Stay away from places that attract the wrong type of people. Most importantly, don’t ignore your gut. If you feel like something is wrong, then leave no matter how inconvenient it is.
However, should you find yourself confronted with someone who intends to do you or someone near you harm, be prepared to react accordingly. Always have a weapon with you that you know how to use. “Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.”
What is your family plan like? Share it with us in a comment. We would love to hear your ideas.
