When we turn away from God, we are not simply turning to something “not quite as good” as God; we are veering toward a veritable vacuum. When we choose to disregard God, we actually descend into a vortex that sucks the vitality of life from the core of us.
Our Creator spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (2:13, NASB)
Evil number one: people turn from God, who is – metaphorically – the Fountain (or Spring) of Living Water. As earthly springs provide a fresh flow of natural water, so God is the source of real life and joy. Spring water is not produced through our efforts, but rather enjoyed when we come near and drink. The supply is endless; it just keeps coming, and we drink happily though we’ve not had one bit to do with the water’s production. The refreshment is ours; the production is His.
What utter shame it is that we would walk away from the source of all life and joy. It is more than a shame; it is sheer evil to forsake the One who provides.
Evil number two: people turn to man-made cisterns – broken cisterns – that can hold no water. Make no mistake; when we abandon the Fountain of Life, there is no hope of gathering life in containers of our making. Whatever containers we fashion to feebly attempt to hold joy – riches, successes, relationships, fit bodies, etc. – they simply cannot hold life. As with broken cisterns, real joy leaks out – sometimes oozing, sometimes gushing.
Living for God and living for something else are not opposites. Living for something other than God is the absence of genuine life. As broken containers leak water, so people turned away from God leak the essence of life.
God is the Fountain, the Giver of all good things. All else is a broken cistern, sucking from our soul true vitality.
What is evil? To turn from the Source of Life and turn to a vacuum, thinking we have somehow done better for ourselves. Come back to God.