Now I’ve heard so many argue over what makes something or someone good or bad. Now what actually something good or bad? Now let me give a practical example here. A guy’s mom is very ill and has no money to pay the hospital bills then he goes to rob a rich home and then got enough money to pay the bills for his sick mom. Now what do you call that? How would you classify the guy’s action? Was it good or bad? Remember he stole to provide for his sick mom. Now would you imprison such a man whose sole aim was to rescue his mom from death? Now people say God is good but how come God is good and evil still exist in our world? They say the world is full of evil so how come the world God who is good created an evil world? Hmmm think about that for a moment. Now the truth is good and evil must exist but good must prevail. If there were no bad guys there won’t be heroes. Yes God created a good world but the devil crept in and destroyed God’s work which God allowed which means something can’t be good unless there is a bad and vice versa. Now Danny is gonna define clearly what good and evil is. What makes a man good? What makes a man bad? Read closely please.
It’s a dangerous over-simplification to believe that some people
are innately ‘good’ while others are innately ‘evil’ or ‘bad.’
This misleading concept underpins the justice system of many
countries – ‘bad’ people commit crimes, and since they are
intrinsically ‘bad’, they should be locked away so that they
can’t harm us with their ‘evil’ behaviour. This concept has also
fuelled many wars and conflicts in history, and even in the
present day. It makes groups believe that they are fighting a just
cause against an ‘evil’ enemy and that once the ‘evil’ people
have been killed, peace and goodness will reign supreme.
Human nature is infinitely more complex than this, of course.
‘Good’ and ‘evil’ are relative – one person’s ‘good’ is another
person’s ‘evil’. They are also flexible – people can be a
combination of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ qualities, and some people
who behave cruelly and brutally can be rehabilitated and
eventually display ‘good’ qualities such as empathy and
kindness. And rather than being intrinsic, most cruel or brutal
behaviour is due to environmental factors, such as an abusive
childhood, or ‘social learning’ from a family or peers.
The Meaning of Good and Evil
What do we really mean when we use these simplistic terms,
‘good’ and ‘evil’?
‘
Good’ means a lack of self-centredness. It means the ability to
empathise with other people, to feel compassion for them, and
to put their needs before your own. It means, if necessary,
sacrificing your own well-being for the sake of others’. It means
benevolence, altruism and selflessness, and self-sacrifice
towards a greater cause – all qualities which stem from a sense
of empathy. It means being able to see beyond the superficial
difference of race, gender or nationality and relate to a common
human essence beneath them.
All of the ‘saintly’ people in human history have these qualities
in abundance. Think of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther
King, risking their own safety and well-being for the goal of
gaining equal rights and freedom for Indians and African
Americans.These were human beings with an exceptional
degree of empathy and compassion, which overrode any
concern for their own ambitions or well-being.
Evil’ people are those who are unable to empathise with others.
As a result, their own needs and desires are of paramount
importance. They are selfish, self-absorbed and narcissistic. In
fact, other people only have value for them to the extent that
they can help them satisfy their own desires, or to which they
can exploit them. This applies to dictators like Stalin and Hitler,
and to serial killers and rapists – I would argue that their
primary characteristics is an inability to empathise with others.
They can’t sense other people’s emotions or their suffering,
can’t see the world from other people’s perspective, have no
sense of their rights.
Now just a question. The fact that they can’t empathize makes them actually bad? No, it means there were factors that constituted his actions and those actions must be looked at be justifying or not justifying his actions. Only then can you say whether it was good or bad. Like it or not, the truth is good and evil were meant to exist in this world and you being created by a good God means you can conquer evil. So next someone does something bad don’t look at the action look at the reason for the action. This is why I like the lawyers. Take that from Danny today! You’re welcome to Danny world let’s talk.
DANNY WORLD 