At some point, we’ve all tried to trick ourselves into believing that evil was just an energy. Something vague, mutable. Something we carry, choose, feed, or starve. But weren’t we so wrong? The devil, call it what you want, is no metaphor, nor energy. It is a black hole, terrifyingly present.
And it doesn’t even wear a mask anymore. It appears in broad daylight, shameless, grinning, and proud of what it has become. This alone is intimidatingly bad, but only if it had stopped there. The wickedness, now overt and brazen, becomes increasingly normalized in society, with an influence so pervasive we can hardly pinpoint or label it directly.
Like, the evil is apparent, but the moment when it ingrains itself into your bones, soul, and mind, is not so blatant. It’s subtle, actually, for instead of screaming, it makes you think you’re the one who’s viscerally craving the poison.
Anyways, that alone would be too complex for your kids to understand, and actually, it was for you, parents. Before teaching your kids to remain pure in the face of evil, you must first know what you’re dealing with yourself. Its facets are more intricate, but for the beginning, what we’ve highlighted above shall be enough.
Common Faces Of Evil In Modern Society Your Kids Should Be Aware Of
Jealous Friends
No, it wouldn’t be exaggerated at all to confine the nature of jealous friends as something vicious, primitive, and barbaric. They pose a danger to themselves and others as well. There’s no need to nuance this one, nor to justify their despicable hatred with self-pity. Your kids must be aware of that. They should never reduce their existence and potential to what a so-called friend has told them. Although jealousy is subtle at first, it often evolves into manipulation, exclusion, or emotional harm, ultimately influencing your children to doubt everything they thought they knew about themselves. And where doubt takes place, evil doesn’t need to knock. Thus, you must help your kid distinguish whether someone is genuinely their friend or just intensely envies them.
Social Media
The devil is no longer a little red man with thorns. He lives in our pockets and whispers through our screens. He’s the itch to compare, the scroll that never ends, and the dopamine drip of distraction, keeping us numb, busy, and quietly waiting for approval. If you don’t name it for what it is, the slow erosion of self through attention addiction, your kids will be educated not by love but by algorithms.
They’re especially vulnerable to misleading content, and besides the inappropriate content, which is naturally a dangerous thing, increased social media use has been linked to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem through the curating of portrayals of others’ fairy-tale lives. Social media is essentially fake. You must ensure that your children know this.
Addiction
Addiction is a beast, but it doesn’t always bare its teeth. Sometimes it smiles, and other times it entertains. It’s not just needles and smoke, as its faces are endless, be it screens, sugar, substances, or status. And the danger is that we often don’t call it by its name until it has become far too familiar.
For our children to stay free, they must learn to see addiction not only as destruction, but as a distraction. A soul-dulling pattern that begins with comfort and ends with control. Identifying its forms is the first line of defense, and naming the beast is how we tame it.
Help your kids feel seen, with all of their shadows if these exist, and build a foundation of purpose. If left unguided, you may scarcely fathom how swiftly a child’s cherished Loungefly treasures can be cast aside, replaced by alluring yet ruinous temptations that erode innocence in silence.
Teach Them Kindness, Honor, And Self-Love
Many parents reflect on their lives, realizing that many circumstances could have been avoided if they hadn’t lacked self-love. Because everything starts and ends with self-love.
If they genuinely love what they see in the mirror, suddenly, it doesn’t matter that much, for they’ll know it’s pure foolishness and that they’re worthy of so much more. If self-love exists, your kids, instead of instilling the toxicity received from the outside world into the deepest layers of their character, will remain untouchable and even answer with kindness.
And what comes after self-love if not honor? Honor counts a great deal in one’s life. We may not talk about it enough, but to be dishonored is to be quietly shattered, because betrayal doesn’t just bruise the heart, it rearranges the soul. Thus, your chances of protecting what’s sacred increase tremendously when you teach your child self-love and honor; meanwhile, kindness is just one step away.
Innocence May Naturally Go At Some Point, But Please Lord, Don’t Make It Brutal
Life will eventually touch your children, there’s no stopping that. They will grow, as all children do, from wide-eyed innocence into the complexity of adulthood, where their favorite. A little boy becomes a man, a little girl becomes a woman. That part is inevitable.
What truly matters is how this transformation unfolds. If their innocence is ripped away by harsh realities or cruelty, if they’re forced to grow up too quickly, the damage can linger for a lifetime. As a parent, clinging to the illusion that they’ll stay small forever isn’t just unrealistic, it’s harmful.
Your role isn’t to stop time; it’s to guide them through it, ensuring their growth is gradual, gentle, and safe. You have the power to create an environment where maturity is a natural, supported process, not a traumatic leap. Let go of denial, and embrace the opportunity to shape the kind of adult your child becomes.
