We tend to think of life as an ongoing conflict between good and evil. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. There are three, not two, entities involved: Good….evil……and free will.
Good and evil are clearly defined in the “owners manual”. They are also internal…….they are “written on our hearts”. In general terms, good increases love and evil decreases love. Furthermore, you and I have no say in the matter. Good and evil exist…….and they are completely independent of us……..they are completely independent of our appetites and desires. They are also universal. What is good for me…….is good for you……and for the stranger down the block.
So far so good.
The problem arises when we stir in the third variable…..free will. Free will means that we get to choose between good and evil……every minute of every day. We are not forced to be good. We are not forced to love. But we are expected to be good……to love…….by our creator. When we freely choose good…..love…..we honor our creator. When we freely choose evil we dishonor our creator.
It’s still pretty simple and straightforward.
So…….when was the last time you got out of bed, planned your day and said to yourself…….”Today…..I’m going to be evil”? Probably never. That’s just not the way we operate. In practice, we look at the world, we work through our list of appetites……the things we want to have and do…….then we pursue one or more of our appetites. We often, completely fail to ask, “is this good or evil?”. We often fail to ask, “does this increase or decrease love?”.
And it gets worse.
When we are backed into a corner…..when we are forced to pigeonhole something as good or evil…..when we really want something that is wrong, evil……..we have another trick. We simply redefine the act as good:
We redefine aborting our child as an exercise in reproductive rights.
We redefine gun ownership as an exercise of our 2nd amendment……even though we may someday use the gun to kill.
We redefine our sex to give our appetites precedence over our anatomy.
The snake tells Eve that eating the forbidden apple will make her wise…….that it will make her like God.
But here’s the thing.
In spite of our manipulations……..good and evil do not change. The expectations of our creator do not change.
We can define things, including ourselves, however we wish. This is the glory of free will. But, ultimately, we will be measured against God’s definition of good and evil. And that is the curse of free will.
And we will fall short…….every last one of us.
But there is hope. Because God’s final judgement will be based on one thing:
Did you recognize God…….did you honor God……..did you love God……..did you obey God?
God cares about love. Mankind cares about free will.
Free will reigns in our world.
Love reigns in God’s world.
Choose.
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:2-5, ESV
“Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”
Jesus, Matthew 19:17, ESV