There is a growing tendency to pretend that good and evil are simply outdated superstitions of a primitive past.

Society seems to be losing its comprehension that not only do good and evil exist, but also that each of us has a personal stake in the battle. 

This doesn’t mean that we all don priestly garb and go forth smiting evil, but it does recognize that we each play a role in how evil comes into the world.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn explained this beautifully in The Gulag Archipelago when he wrote:

“Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either – but right through every human heart – and through all human hearts.”

The idea that each of us has the ability to prevent evil from entering the world through us personally means that we each possess a degree of influence. 

This means that through our decisions – big and small – we determine whether good or evil is allowed to flourish.

Solzhenitsyn recommended that we first put our own hearts in order. 

Here’s how he put it:

“You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.”

We can make a real and lasting difference by remembering that the line between good and evil passes through our hearts too.