Into the Fire

Christians know man forfeited his “goodness” in the Garden of Eden when given the choice between believing in truth and believing in lies. That solitary decision invited the blatant occupation of sin on earth. Sin in all its perversity, in all of its evil content, became the norm for life on this planet, infiltrating the very bloodstream of its inhabitants from that moment on.

So is evil the flip-side of good? Some would say yes. The “freedom” to partake in all kinds of sin has always been available to humans. There was always “the choice”. And still is. No man or woman is capable of making all the sinless choices because our nature has been corrupted by the occupation of and inclination toward sin. Evil, however, is the cultivation of that sinfulness and the rejection of goodness when there remains opportunity to choose it over sin.

Evil is personified in the devil. He had the opportunity to reject the notions that he could overrule his creator and best Him. Instead Lucifer as he was known decided to “improve” his status, believing he could surpass the One who gave him his existence and talents. The irony and arrogance of such a choice earned him not only expulsion from his perfect home, it will result in his future eternal dwelling in a place of torment.

Jesus noted that no one is “good” except God. Certainly not His fallen creation, not even His inferiors in the spiritual kingdom can claim His goodness. It’s one of a kind originating within Him. Evil coexists in a parallel line, its identity separate and in no way associated with goodness. It lies in wait for tempted souls wishing to partake of the incognito folly and destruction tangled in its taunting. Offering lusts of all kinds, it’s too much for us to resist, but not all of us sample its extremes.

The philosophy of many unbelievers is that we are all capable of atrocities just as we are capable of great feats of human endeavor. We embody both objectives—our backgrounds and cultures largely responsible for what we become. However, not all the abused become abusers, though some do. Not all products of alcoholics or drug addicted parents become those same addicts, although some do. God summarizes the situation in the simplest of ways: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The judgment for sin is death. The sacrifice for sin was given in Jesus’ death, and the restoration offered in Jesus’ resurrection.

We do not enter this world without sin. We lean toward it, but this leaning can be submitted to God and regenerated by the sacrifice Jesus offered and renewed by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The compunction toward sin will lessen as we infuse ourselves with more of God and less of us. We’ll fight our nature for our lifetimes on planet earth, but in God’s care and His strength we can overrule evil.

Good and evil are not alter-egos. We can decide we want to be “good”, but we can’t attain it without God. If we don’t cultivate sin, chances are we won’t graduate to evil, but in our sinful states neither will we graduate to any kind of good. We need a Savior to rescue us from our nature.

Man’s ideas of “good” seem tied to works of benevolence and philanthropy. God is unimpressed at the self-righteous efforts of mankind without Him. Our limited insights will never take us to lofty levels in the spiritual realm. They will glorify us in our own eyes or perhaps in those who are like-minded and lost in the mirrored reflections of self-admiration.

Some people work very hard at being “good” but never achieve it in the eyes of a perfect God who embodies and defines it. Others work very hard at being evil, gratifying perverse desires and believing in an entity who’s ensnared their lusts with those of his own.

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV)

Good and evil. Separate. Unrelated.

Lord God, take us deeper into the Goodness, the Truth that is you through your Holy Spirit. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.