Good and Evil

Good and Evil – There is No Such Thing as Evil
Good and evil – It seems the great struggle of good vs. evil is a fallacy. Good exists, but evil does not. By “evil,” we mean the antithesis of good; an exact opposite. A force working in opposition to an equal and contradictory force of good. But this is simply not so. Rather, what we call evil is nothing more than the absence of good.

If God is good, then all He created was good. In this situation, “evil” does not and cannot exist in the physical or spiritual reality that God created. In other words, evil does not exist.

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good (Genesis 1:31).

Good and Evil – Evil is the Absence of Good
When it comes to good and evil, we are not suggesting that there is no evil in the world, but rather suggesting that it does not exist in and of itself. As with light and dark. Light exists, and can not only be proven to exist, but can be measured and artificially created. Darkness, however, does not exist. There is no particle or wave called “dark.” Dark is what happens when there is no light. It is the absence of light. The absence of “good” things always creates “bad” things.

Consider the human mind when the chemical Serotonin is absent; the condition is called depression. The absence of other meaningful people in your life facilitates loneliness. Like depression, loneliness, and countless other examples, evil is nothing more than the condition present when a fundamental necessity is missing. Even though these things don’t “exist” in the truest sense of the word, they are phenomena that can be witnessed, experienced, and even cured.

Consider that “lost” is not a thing that exists, either. While one can be “lost,” and we certainly have all experienced this condition, there is not a thing called “lost.” You are lost when there is nothing familiar present to tell you where you are. And while this can be the result of someone moving you unawares to an unfamiliar location, it is most often the consequence of your own actions.

As darkness only “exists” wherever light is absent, and “lost” only exists when nothing familiar is present, so too does evil exist wherever God is absent. God is never fully absent, but has allowed His creations the free will to choose to be either with Him or away from Him. These choices can be permanent (conscious spiritual/religious affiliation-related decisions), or they can be temporary (as when a Christian decides to leave God’s side in an effort to accomplish something without His help or guidance), and there are consequences to each.

Good and Evil – The Nature of God
So, what’s the ultimate truth about God, good and evil? God did not, has not, and will not, cause evil to happen. It is against His very being. That is not to say God will not punish, as just punishment is a good thing. But this does mean that God is not “responsible” for a baby’s death or cancer. Free Will—the good thing that allows us to freely choose to be with God—also allows us to choose evil. Some choose evil in that they simply don’t seek God, while others choose evil in that they actively seek to destroy God’s creation (terrorists, for example), and still others choose “evil” when they defile their bodies with drugs or other things that break it down. For instance, if your child is born with fetal alcohol syndrome because of your lifestyle choices, it is not God’s fault, but yours. Free will is an awesome thing, but it means that the consequences of our actions are our own personal responsibility.

Because God loves us, He seeks to be with us at all times. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). But because we are not God’s Automata or “Clockwork Oranges,” we have the free will to turn our backs on God, which leaves us in a state of “evil.” However, this state of being “evil” (or “lost” as God considers those of us who either have not yet accepted Him as their God, or have, but have turned away from Him) is curable, and is also something that God seeks to remove from the world, and will do so on Judgment Day (see Philippians 2:9-11). This goes for all those that have chosen “evil” (a life separated from the Living God), whether human or angel.

Good and Evil – Hope in God
Regardless of theology, Good and Evil are “reality” for most of us each and every day. For those that have accepted Jesus Christ, His promise is that He will never leave us. “And surely I am with you always, even until the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He also promises that, whenever we stray from “good” (being in God’s presence) to “evil” (by turning away from Him), that He is faithful to find that which was lost (see Luke 15:11-32). And for those of us who have yet to find what is Good, God’s promise is that He is desperately searching for you. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).

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