Tuesday, 23 March 2010

Is Good the Opposite of Evil?

Many people believe that evil is the opposite of good.  Such a belief lends a measure of equality to evil.  Evil is not the opposite of good.  God is good and he created evil so that mankind would recognize acts of good when encountered. 

Because evil acts are temporarily gratifying, they are more attractive to humankind.  Often evil requires less energy to perform, and the acts themselves provide an immediate form of gratification.  A driver cuts you off in traffic, and you curse them with verbal shouts and somatic gestures and one might get a sense that they have been vindicated.  Or one might speed up, go around the driver, get in front of them, and touch the brakes emphasizing your frustration; this too might provide a sense of gratification.  The problem is that evil acts such as this only provide a fleeting and temporary gratification because the very nature of evil is to lie.  It lies to you making you feel that you have done right, the other person has “been taught a lesson”, and “got what they deserved”.  Most likely, the person that cut you off had no idea they did, and by exacting your revenge, you now have put them in a position that requires them to make a choice between good and evil.  Who knows how their quest for instant gratification will end on this day?

This sort of euphoric reward for acts of evil is so fleeting, that it starts to require more and more evil acts to obtain the same feelings of satisfaction.  The example I used above with the traffic, would provide such a temporary feeling of satisfaction that most likely by the time you have reached your destination, you no longer feel satisfied, but instead maybe guilty, angry, resentful, and your mind has already thought of several different ways you might have exacted your revenge upon the inconsiderate driver or may do so encountering another in the future.

This is the lie of evil that following its path will make you happy.  Think now upon the same example but this time instead of listening to evil, think about what would happen if you overlooked the inconsiderate act of the other driver.  Think about what would have happened if you instead of cursing the person, you prayed for them.  Pray for their safe delivery to their destination, pray for their happiness and contentment, pray for their family and other people they will encounter on the road.

You will have an opportunity to calm down from the experience but you will not have an immediate sense of vindication or wrath induced satisfaction.  However, by the time you reach your destination, and for the rest of the day, you will have a feeling of happiness when reflecting on the moment; for in that instant you chose to ignore the lies of evil, and listen to the truth of good.  You will have made a spiritual bond with God, and the inconsiderate stranger.  As you then reflect upon the choice you made, you will obtain a lasting and genuine satisfaction in knowing that you just gave evil a bloody nose.

Posted by Fr Abbot Kenneth L. Hasty, S.O.S. at 9:33 AM EDT

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