The Good, The Bad and The Difference by Robert Socha

I am always looking for something good to write about. Then I started thinking about what is good and how I know it is good. It is complicated to accomplish this goal with so much evil and negativity bombarding us daily. And then how do we know when something is evil, and how do we know when something is good? And since God is good, why does He sit back and watch us do evil things seemingly without intervention?

I think Jordan Peterson had a great summary of why God allows evil. It’s not that God allows evil, but it’s that God allows the possibility of evil, which is very different. A choice confronts us. We can choose to be good, or we can choose to do evil. But how do we know the difference? Our conscience is a good place to start. Joshua’s appeal is powerful: “Choose this day whom you will serve.”

Still, we wrestle in these mortal bodies with the idea that we should do more, be better, and fight harder, and it is as if every burden and pressure rises against us to thwart the effort. And we are bombarded with a world whose every inclination is evil all the time. Nation rising against nation. Sexual perversion and deviancy. We are obtaining fame and fortune, whatever the cost. These poxes invasively corrupt the soul. The exhausting struggle to overcome zaps every bit of energy and casts a hopeless spell over our hearts that doing good or knowing what is good is impossible.

I do not have the time, nor the intellect, to bring a definitive answer to the age-old question that the sages have argued from time immemorial: what is the good? But I do know that our conscience bears witness to that which is good and beautiful. For example, when an accomplished pianist hops on a public instrument and plays Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the music stops people in their tracks as they listen and enjoy its timeless melody. Something about that composition stirs deep emotion in every soul, and we recognize its beauty and intrinsically know it is good.

I digress. One could argue against that statement above because of differing opinions, but the underlying conviction is true nonetheless; our conscience bears witness. It is true in nature, music, and art. And the beautiful things created are to be celebrated and admired.

But there must be a foundation for that which is good. A common denominator must help us define and understand what is good. Otherwise, it will be an individual’s belief, which can be dangerous because of the inclination toward evil and the opportunity and desire to engage therein.

I believe Paul gave us a great understanding of how we know what is good in Romans chapter seven. He writes that we would not know sin (evil) but by the law (Torah) of God, and he explains in verse 12 that “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” The Torah of God, the first five books of the Bible that Moses gave us provide a road map whose ultimate destination is faith in Christ, is the foundation for what our conscience bears witness to what is good. That faith will gird the soul, and, as we draw nearer to Thee, can both encourage and intrigue to understand John’s declaration, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)

We can know that something is good and celebrate it when we weigh it against the Word of God, whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light. We can be set free and rise out of the murkiness of political mire and dire sensational doomsday newscasts and negativity that constantly bombard our souls. And we can think about good and praiseworthy things by allowing the Spirit of Holiness to comfort and direct us to the King, “giving thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1)