EVIL...
There are many shades to this word and many variations and usages among mankind and his condition and walk with God. We are beginning to see now that God created all things. All of existence is within the created realm of God. His hand in creating is upon all things. Nothing that exists is outside of his creating hand. We have to see this clearly before we can begin to see the dynamic of evil, its part among humanity and how it relates to God and the creation which he created. Mankind is divided in his vue towards evil. Many say evil is created by man and others are of the opinion that evil is created by God, based on Isaiah 45:7. I am not here to take sides or dispute any cause of division. I simply want to share something for you to think about. It is not my position to persuade you of one way or the the other, for it is my conviction that there is an element of truth in both sides.
Evil, as mentioned, has many shades of itself. Ranging from 'bad', 'harmful', 'destructive', 'adverse', 'dis-eased', 'distressed', 'wrong', 'sorrowful', 'trouble' and so on. If a storm comes and ruins a family and their home, that is evil. If cancer comes upon the flesh of a man, that is evil. If a woman is unfaithful, that is evil. If a man is abusive, that is evil. If I give an impatient glance to the driver along side of me, that is evil. Evil are things that come upon mankind that bring discomfort, dis-ease, and destruction. The things that counter the peace and joy and settled heart of humanity. The things that lower or humble or depress the thoughts and desires of mankind. The aspects of evil are wide ranged.
One person may say, God would not create evil to purposely discomfort or disease a man. God would not willingly counter a man's peace or joy. God would not purposely lower or depress the thoughts of humanity. Or would he? They would say that mankind is bringing it upon himself. That mankind creates the evil that comes upon him. He makes his own bed, they say, and God allows him to lay in it.
The other person may say, God does it all. God creates the evil that man lays in. God is responsible for countering or acting against the peace or joy of man. But wait, that doesn't sound like a loving and faithful God? God cannot counter himself or rob himself. As you can see, there is probably much confusion concerning evil and its origin and its part in humanity.
Let us remember one thing before we continue, God created all things.
I believe our vue of evil would become greater if we began to look to the root of things that we encounter in creation. Think about a downpour of rain that falls upon the land. For one man, the rain brought a flood and spoiled perhaps a wedding for his daughter or a party for his family. For another man, the same rain, brought a perfect balance of water for his thirsty crops. To the one man, the rain was evil and to the other man the rain was good to him specifically. So then, was the rain evil or good? Couldn't it be said that the condition and position of the man who received the rain determined the value of the rain to him? The same rain brought two outcomes. To one, it was like an unwelcomed visitor and to the other it was like a long-awaited dear friend. One would argue it was a tremendous evil and the other would argue it was the answer to prayer. So which is it? Can it not be both? I believe that it is and I am convicted that it is the condition and position of the man receiving the rain that determines whether it is evil or good to him. Either or, we know where the rain comes from.
Knowing this, we cannot say that rain is either good or evil. We cannot say whether a person is good or evil. We cannot say whether this or that is evil. It is the spirit (mind) amid the action and reaction that determines its value. Is a man who steals bread with the intention of only feeding his starving family evil? Many will say yes, stealing is stealing and that is evil, but I would say it is not evil. Perhaps the store owner takes a loss in some measure but his loss put food in the mouth of the hungry. If the man stole the bread to have the money for his own desires and pleasures, then perhaps that is more of an evil. Same man, same bread, same store owner, different spirit (mind) amid the action. If I am driving 60 mph in a zone labeled 50 mph, am I evil? Yes, I am doing wrong, but am I evil or am I committing an evil? What if I were speeding in order to get to my dying child? Is it still an evil? What if I were speeding to avoid the authority or because I am drunk? Is that an evil? I would say yes to the latter. Who am I to determine the value of things, whether they are good or evil? I am often in no place to make that determination. I most often do not know the whole story or circumstance, so I cannot clearly decide if a thing is good or evil. Can you?
God created the capacity and realm for evil to exist. God gives and God withholds. God opens and God closes. God holds up and God lets down. God goes in and God comes out. God enlightens and God withdraws his light. God reveals and God hides. Gods actions are always good and right and proper and justified. Gods very being and movement among creation is always with perfect and pure motives. They are always leading creation in the direction of maturity and wholeness. Yet, if God hides truth from one man in order to reveal his truth to another, his action becomes and evil the man of which is truth was hid. If God destroys one things to give life to another, his action becomes an evil to the one that was destroyed. If God allows or authorizes disease to come upon one child ignored to rescue and bring light to another person, that disease becomes an evil to the one child. God authorizes and governs and oversees and allows and causes all things to happen. Do you follow?
I heard a story of a little girl who jumped off of a bridge to end her life. We say, 'that is such a horrible thing'. Yes, it is horrible, but do we know the cause and reason behind it? Let's think about it for a moment. Was it an evil act that the girl did? Something drove or animated her within to leave this realm. It wasn't evil to the little girl, but perhaps the pain and thoughts were an evil to the mother and father. Most people would ask, 'why would God do or allow such a thing?'. Later, it was said that the father abused the little girl. That abuse was indeed an evil to her, but not to him. He was receiving pleasure while she was receiving distress and sorrow. God allowed or authorized or caused or governed her mind to carry with it the thoughts and capacity to leave this realm and to leave this continual evil to her. Was God wrong in allowing her to act upon this motivation to leave? Was God wrong in allowing her to escape this continual destruction? Most will think yes, but I see a loving and faithful God among that scenario. God allowed her to escape. Perhaps God was preventing her from experiencing far worse down the road. How do we know? Who are we to determine?
Evil was involved in this. It came through wrong thinking and wrong desires and it was inflicted from one person to another. It came through purpose and it was governed through purpose. It happened in became part of the plan. I have heard in the past that God's involvement within humanity is a constant giving and withdrawing. If a man is insane or out of his right mind, it is because God has not given him sanity or the right mind at this moment. If a man desires to kill, it is because God has withheld from giving the desire to love from that man. Why would God withhold? Why wouldn't God just give all men all the goodness and right ways and sane minds so that there is no evil?
Everything in the created world exists within a capacity. It occupies a space. There is always a cause and effect, or a sowing and reaping. There is always a measure of black and white, heaven and earth, on and off, in and out, up and down, good or evil, light or dark, under or over. These two contrasting existence are constantly at work among one another filling the whole of the capacity. Whatever measure a person is positioned within a room, there is a counter measurement of which he may be out of the room. If he is fully or wholly in the room, there is no measure of him out of the room. If he is sixty percent in the room, there is a measure of 40% that is not in the room. Whatever the situation, there is an existence of two occupying to make a whole.
For every death, there is a life occupying the whole capacity. For every hunger, there is a fullness to fill the capacity. For every measure of right, there is a measure of wrong to perfect the capacity. For every yin, there is a measure of yang. If I walk into a room that is dimly light, there is a mix of light and dark in that room. There is space not yet fully occupied by light, and therefore it is occupied by the absence of that light, which is dark. I notice some mornings that while the sun is appearing in the east, I can still see the moon. There is a measure of both until the sun is fully appeared and the moon is eclipsed by the fullness of the light. The measure of the light drowns out the night and fills the capacity. There is within me a measure of impatience or bitterness. It is not a great amount, but it exists in some measure because I see it rise up within me at times. That measure of impatience is not fully occupying the capacity within me, and therefore the remaining space is filled with patience. These two coincide with one another every moment of every day while Gods mind and desire works among my mind. Gods ways impedes upon my way. The way of patience trods down the way of impatience, working and enduring and pursing and suffering until the way of impatience is less and less. This gives way for patience to become complete and at a mature level filling the capacity completely with patience. This is a constant movement of two among one filling a space and good among evil is a part of this process. Both exists and are shared among humanity in an innumerable amount of ways, but God is the author and governor and cause of all. God is the author and finisher of it all. God is fully involved in the process of it all intertwined in the capacity of life.
Evil, as mentioned, has many shades of itself. Ranging from 'bad', 'harmful', 'destructive', 'adverse', 'dis-eased', 'distressed', 'wrong', 'sorrowful', 'trouble' and so on. If a storm comes and ruins a family and their home, that is evil. If cancer comes upon the flesh of a man, that is evil. If a woman is unfaithful, that is evil. If a man is abusive, that is evil. If I give an impatient glance to the driver along side of me, that is evil. Evil are things that come upon mankind that bring discomfort, dis-ease, and destruction. The things that counter the peace and joy and settled heart of humanity. The things that lower or humble or depress the thoughts and desires of mankind. The aspects of evil are wide ranged.
One person may say, God would not create evil to purposely discomfort or disease a man. God would not willingly counter a man's peace or joy. God would not purposely lower or depress the thoughts of humanity. Or would he? They would say that mankind is bringing it upon himself. That mankind creates the evil that comes upon him. He makes his own bed, they say, and God allows him to lay in it.
The other person may say, God does it all. God creates the evil that man lays in. God is responsible for countering or acting against the peace or joy of man. But wait, that doesn't sound like a loving and faithful God? God cannot counter himself or rob himself. As you can see, there is probably much confusion concerning evil and its origin and its part in humanity.
Let us remember one thing before we continue, God created all things.
I believe our vue of evil would become greater if we began to look to the root of things that we encounter in creation. Think about a downpour of rain that falls upon the land. For one man, the rain brought a flood and spoiled perhaps a wedding for his daughter or a party for his family. For another man, the same rain, brought a perfect balance of water for his thirsty crops. To the one man, the rain was evil and to the other man the rain was good to him specifically. So then, was the rain evil or good? Couldn't it be said that the condition and position of the man who received the rain determined the value of the rain to him? The same rain brought two outcomes. To one, it was like an unwelcomed visitor and to the other it was like a long-awaited dear friend. One would argue it was a tremendous evil and the other would argue it was the answer to prayer. So which is it? Can it not be both? I believe that it is and I am convicted that it is the condition and position of the man receiving the rain that determines whether it is evil or good to him. Either or, we know where the rain comes from.
Knowing this, we cannot say that rain is either good or evil. We cannot say whether a person is good or evil. We cannot say whether this or that is evil. It is the spirit (mind) amid the action and reaction that determines its value. Is a man who steals bread with the intention of only feeding his starving family evil? Many will say yes, stealing is stealing and that is evil, but I would say it is not evil. Perhaps the store owner takes a loss in some measure but his loss put food in the mouth of the hungry. If the man stole the bread to have the money for his own desires and pleasures, then perhaps that is more of an evil. Same man, same bread, same store owner, different spirit (mind) amid the action. If I am driving 60 mph in a zone labeled 50 mph, am I evil? Yes, I am doing wrong, but am I evil or am I committing an evil? What if I were speeding in order to get to my dying child? Is it still an evil? What if I were speeding to avoid the authority or because I am drunk? Is that an evil? I would say yes to the latter. Who am I to determine the value of things, whether they are good or evil? I am often in no place to make that determination. I most often do not know the whole story or circumstance, so I cannot clearly decide if a thing is good or evil. Can you?
God created the capacity and realm for evil to exist. God gives and God withholds. God opens and God closes. God holds up and God lets down. God goes in and God comes out. God enlightens and God withdraws his light. God reveals and God hides. Gods actions are always good and right and proper and justified. Gods very being and movement among creation is always with perfect and pure motives. They are always leading creation in the direction of maturity and wholeness. Yet, if God hides truth from one man in order to reveal his truth to another, his action becomes and evil the man of which is truth was hid. If God destroys one things to give life to another, his action becomes an evil to the one that was destroyed. If God allows or authorizes disease to come upon one child ignored to rescue and bring light to another person, that disease becomes an evil to the one child. God authorizes and governs and oversees and allows and causes all things to happen. Do you follow?
I heard a story of a little girl who jumped off of a bridge to end her life. We say, 'that is such a horrible thing'. Yes, it is horrible, but do we know the cause and reason behind it? Let's think about it for a moment. Was it an evil act that the girl did? Something drove or animated her within to leave this realm. It wasn't evil to the little girl, but perhaps the pain and thoughts were an evil to the mother and father. Most people would ask, 'why would God do or allow such a thing?'. Later, it was said that the father abused the little girl. That abuse was indeed an evil to her, but not to him. He was receiving pleasure while she was receiving distress and sorrow. God allowed or authorized or caused or governed her mind to carry with it the thoughts and capacity to leave this realm and to leave this continual evil to her. Was God wrong in allowing her to act upon this motivation to leave? Was God wrong in allowing her to escape this continual destruction? Most will think yes, but I see a loving and faithful God among that scenario. God allowed her to escape. Perhaps God was preventing her from experiencing far worse down the road. How do we know? Who are we to determine?
Evil was involved in this. It came through wrong thinking and wrong desires and it was inflicted from one person to another. It came through purpose and it was governed through purpose. It happened in became part of the plan. I have heard in the past that God's involvement within humanity is a constant giving and withdrawing. If a man is insane or out of his right mind, it is because God has not given him sanity or the right mind at this moment. If a man desires to kill, it is because God has withheld from giving the desire to love from that man. Why would God withhold? Why wouldn't God just give all men all the goodness and right ways and sane minds so that there is no evil?
Everything in the created world exists within a capacity. It occupies a space. There is always a cause and effect, or a sowing and reaping. There is always a measure of black and white, heaven and earth, on and off, in and out, up and down, good or evil, light or dark, under or over. These two contrasting existence are constantly at work among one another filling the whole of the capacity. Whatever measure a person is positioned within a room, there is a counter measurement of which he may be out of the room. If he is fully or wholly in the room, there is no measure of him out of the room. If he is sixty percent in the room, there is a measure of 40% that is not in the room. Whatever the situation, there is an existence of two occupying to make a whole.
For every death, there is a life occupying the whole capacity. For every hunger, there is a fullness to fill the capacity. For every measure of right, there is a measure of wrong to perfect the capacity. For every yin, there is a measure of yang. If I walk into a room that is dimly light, there is a mix of light and dark in that room. There is space not yet fully occupied by light, and therefore it is occupied by the absence of that light, which is dark. I notice some mornings that while the sun is appearing in the east, I can still see the moon. There is a measure of both until the sun is fully appeared and the moon is eclipsed by the fullness of the light. The measure of the light drowns out the night and fills the capacity. There is within me a measure of impatience or bitterness. It is not a great amount, but it exists in some measure because I see it rise up within me at times. That measure of impatience is not fully occupying the capacity within me, and therefore the remaining space is filled with patience. These two coincide with one another every moment of every day while Gods mind and desire works among my mind. Gods ways impedes upon my way. The way of patience trods down the way of impatience, working and enduring and pursing and suffering until the way of impatience is less and less. This gives way for patience to become complete and at a mature level filling the capacity completely with patience. This is a constant movement of two among one filling a space and good among evil is a part of this process. Both exists and are shared among humanity in an innumerable amount of ways, but God is the author and governor and cause of all. God is the author and finisher of it all. God is fully involved in the process of it all intertwined in the capacity of life.
