“The Appearance of Evil:” Does That Mean What You Think It Does?

There is a scripture that has haunted me for years. Its interpretation has made me worry and overthink decisions. It has taken my power of agency and given it to others. 

Today, I am taking my power back. I don’t think that scripture means what many church members think it means, and it’s time we change our usage of it. 

1 Thessalonians 5:22 and “The Appearance of Evil”

At the end of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, the King James Version of the Bible includes this scripture: “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” 

Currently, I hear this scripture interpreted to mean that people should obviously avoid doing evil, but they should also avoid doing things that may not be explicitly evil, but that may look evil. 

In fact, the Mormon chatbot, LDSBot affirms this interpretation. LDSBot says, “This scripture encourages members to avoid situations that might lead to sin or appear to be wrong in the eyes of others.” This interpretation is contrary to my understanding of God, sin, and judgment, and the scriptures agree with me. 

[image error]LDSBot’s description of “avoid the very appearance of evil” “The Appearance of Evil” Is In the Eye of the Beholder

One of the main problems with the interpretation of the scripture as people commonly use it is that it takes judgment away from the person acting and away from God, and instead places it in mere mortals. 

Some people may use this scripture to think that mocktails should be avoided, because they look like cocktails. Others may think that illusion necklines are sinful because they give the “illusion” of modesty. People often use this scripture to say listening to radio edits of songs is inappropriate, because the “evil” swear words can still be implied. It can get out of hand so quickly! 

If one wants to use this scripture as a way to help themselves make choices about how to live righteously, more power to them! 

But the problem comes when this scripture is used to tell other people what to do. It is problematic when the person making the choice is not concerned with what God thinks or what they think, but rather, “will someone else see this as evil? If so, I must avoid it.” If we are concerned, as LDSBot says, with things that “appear to be wrong in the eyes of others,” we are quickly going to find we have no real choices, and we will constantly feel judged and shamed. 

As a teenager who struggled with religious scrupulosity, I felt this. I felt that every decision I made was not only being judged by God, but also by the members of my ward. 

I did not fit in with my ward, and most of the other members did not seem particularly interested in getting to know me. They only knew that I liked the color purple because I often wore it to church. 

One day, a visitor came. She had beautiful purple hair. My Young Women leader told me to go talk to her, “because she probably doesn’t feel like she fits in. And with her hair like that, she probably has other concerns too.” Apparently, to this leader, purple hair was the “appearance of evil,” and I was sent to help this girl, because I… liked purple? 

The message I walked away with, though, was that the ward was always watching. Dye your hair? They will know and make a judgment. Change your clothes? They will know and make a judgment. Listen to popular music? They will know and make a judgment. 

“The Appearance of Evil” as a Weapon

When we give away the power of judgment to others rather than God, they can use it as a weapon. If someone is vulnerable, a person in power can shut them down just by saying, “your actions are giving the appearance of evil.” 

I experienced this and it has haunted me to this day; it’s taken therapy for me to process the harm from this. 

When I was a teenager, I started taking voice lessons. I loved singing, and it was a way that I really sparkled. I was blessed with a beautiful voice, and with lessons, it started to bloom into something rather special. 

I was asked to sing at a Young Women’s dinner one year, and I found a piece that fit comfortably in my voice. It shared the skill I had developed, including some impressive (for a 16-year-old) embellishments. I loved singing it, and I enjoyed performing it at the dinner. The audience seemed to enjoy it too! 

I was then asked if I would perform the same piece as a special musical number in the ward. I agreed and started to prepare. Later, I was told by the bishopric member coordinating that service that I would have to change my song. They had decided that all special musical numbers had to be hymns from the hymn book, and my song was not (even though it was all centered on Christ). I was hurt and annoyed, but those feelings only amplified when I found out the real reason they had decided to change my piece.

It had nothing to do with the handbook or preferences of the bishop. My Young Women Leader (yes, the one with the vendetta against purple hair) had decided that I was becoming too prideful about my voice. She felt that letting me sing that song in sacrament meeting was giving me too much reason to show off, and would therefore be feeding into the “appearance of evil,” with the evil in this case being pride. 

A grown woman was using “the appearance of evil” to squash the heart and spirit of a teenage girl. 

I am now a professional singer. People pay me to use that skill, and I am comfortable saying I am pretty good at it! I hate singing in church. I do it once in a while, because I occasionally have a song in my heart. But it stresses me out more than singing with a professional symphony. I feel like I have to be good or people will think “oh… She gets paid to do this?” But I also feel like if I do too well, people will think, “Oh. She thinks she’s really good. That’s very prideful,” and it makes me sweat and shake. All because one Young Women Leader used “the appearance of evil” as a weapon. 

A Hidden Dark Side to “The Appearance of Evil”

While the example of my Young Women Leader using this scripture to sabotage me is obviously wrong, there is a hidden side to our interpretation of this scripture that is even more nefarious. 

In 1972, psychologists K. Dion, E. Berscheid, and E. Walster published a landmark study titled “What is Beautiful is Good.” They found that people were more inclined to make judgments that conventionally attractive people would perform more socially acceptable/good behaviors. They deemed this judgment “what is beautiful is good.” 

You see this played out in children’s animations. The evil character is usually ugly, while the heroine is beautiful and “fair.” A study found that children can internalize that message to mean that “ugly”=”evil” and “pretty”=”good” and then they make quick judgments about the morals of a character, based solely on appearance. 

This happens everywhere in society, certainly not just in the church. But add in this scripture of “abstain from the appearance of evil” and suddenly, it’s not just society’s beauty standards at play, it’s also “the will of God.” 

With the understanding that appearing “evil” is next to sinning, it’s no wonder that places with large numbers of Latter-Day Saints see high rates of plastic surgery. It’s no wonder that trends like “Utah curls” take over Mormon spheres. 

In a (likely subconscious) attempt to avoid sin and appear good, appearances, particularly in media, become homogenized, and suddenly the representation of “good Mormons” is filled with slender, blonde, white women with a slight curl to their hair, full lips, and button noses. 

Does plastic surgery erase sins? No. Does lighter hair bring you closer to God? No. But subconsciously, people may be thinking this when we interpret 1 Thessalonians 5:22 to mean that appearance matters! People can then use scriptures as a bludgeon, thinking that people not fitting their beauty standards must be sinning. 

This is one reason that we desperately need diverse representation in all aspects of our lives. We need to see that people of all races, body types, hair colors, and other presentations can make both good and bad choices. We need children and adults to recognize that appearance does not dictate goodness. People may be conventionally attractive and be saints! They may also be sinners. The same goes for people of any appearance! 

(Side note: I have felt pain seeing only thin white influencers sharing outfits compatible with the new garments. If you can relate to that, you may enjoy (@kaylee.kalehua) on Instagram, who is a Hawaiian woman promoting mid-size outfits.) 

God Is Not Worried About What You Look Like

Another fault with interpreting “the appearance of evil” the way that many do is that God does not seem to agree. I can see that personally in my life, and the scriptures also support that. 

1 Samuel 16:7 says, “for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” God does not care what we look like, and our Heavenly Parents know what is in our hearts. So, they know if our hearts are in the right place, regardless of what others may say about the “appearance of evil” in our actions. 

God even encourages us to avoid making judgments based on appearance. John 7:24 says, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” So not only does God think what is in our hearts is what matters, but God wants us to do the same! 

Yet, people still cling to “the appearance of evil” as their justification for restricting and shaming others. 

“I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means” 

When we interpret “the appearance of evil” to mean anything that may look like sin, whether it is sinful or not, we are missing the mark. Furthermore, we are probably not even reading that scripture correctly! In the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, 1 Thessalonians 5:22 reads “abstain from every form of evil” (emphasis added).
Paul is not warning people to avoid things that others may see as sin, he is warning people to avoid all evil. 

So, hurting people with weapons is evil. Hurting people with your words is also evil, just a different “form” (or “appearance”). Lying is wrong, and so is cheating. Marginalizing people in God’s name is wrong, even if you think you can back it up with scriptures! It’s still another form of evil. 

Give the Power Back to God

Worrying about what others may see as “evil” is spiritually shaming and stifling. It has the power to make you more concerned with outward appearance than with other actions. It can open the door to hiding harmful behavior, so that no one can judge you as “evil.” All of that does not help someone heal. It allows hurt to grow and fester. 

But if we re-interpret (or rather, interpret correctly) the admonition to avoid evil in all forms, rather than just what “looks” evil, we take the power away from the people around us and give it back to God. Once again, God and we judge what is right in our lives, not some nosy neighbor who does not like loud music.