Noone is Good

The dichotomy of good vs. evil: It's an ancient idea, but you'll hear many twists. The eastern world has the imagery of the yin yang. There's no real good or evil but negative and positive forces which complement and complete the other. The modern, western world hates a simple good and bad; you may hear a lot about gray areas and how there's good and bad in everyone. Question here is: What does the Bible actually say about good and evil? First, let's start with a definition of good and evil, not from the dictionary but from the Bible.

What is goodness?

"And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone." Mark 10:18
*Good = Greek agathon = intrinsically good, whether it is seen to be so or not, the widest & most colorless of all words with this meaning.

"As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one." Romans 3:10/Psalm 14:1-4
*Righteous = Greek dikahyos = equitable/innocent/holy

"And do not enter into judgment with your servant, For in your sight no man living is righteous." Psalm 143:2
*Righteous = Hebrew tsadeq = to be right/clean/just/righteous/lawful/justified

"Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins." Ecclesiastes 7:20
*Good = Hebrew towb = beautiful, pleasant, agreeable to the sight, taste, smell etc.

The Hebrew and Greek translations of the words used vary little. The translations seem to point to fairness, innocence, clean, lawful, and pleasant beauty. However, if you look at the commandments and Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, explaining the spirit of the laws, you can get a better taste of what it means to be good.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

So, goodness, holiness, and righteousness are summed up as love. If you love unconditionally, that is good; however, no one acts and speaks out of love unconditionally, perfectly for all of their life. Therefore, no one, including Christians, is good. "No one is good except God alone." Mark10:18 What is love? Everyone knows the verse spoken at nearly every wedding:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love selflessly seeks the well-being, success, and ultimate joy of others. Sometimes, it's not nice (read the New Testament to see Jesus wasn't always nice!). However, it's always KIND, and kindness is about what is best for the other person.

Now, what is evil?

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21
*Evil=Greek kakos= bad/evil/inwardly foul/rotten

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12
*Evil=Greek poneria= iniquity/pain-ridden evil/toil

"He went on: 'What comes of out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come - sexual immortality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person." Mark 7:20-23
*Evil=Greek kakos & Evils=Greek poneria (See Above)

"Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." Psalm 34:14
*Evil=Greek ra'= adversity/bad/disagreeable/misery

It appears to be the opposite of good, and that means evil is the opposite of love. That's hatred, right? Not always. Sometimes, that's apathy. If you seek constantly for the well-being of others, you can't be also apathetic toward them.

This world is so full of bad news about evil, and our current technology and social media makes it possible to stream this bad news 24/7. Just this alone can make a person apathetic as we become deadened to the evil just for the sake of our own sanity. I think this verse says it best:

"Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Furthermore, as we can tell from the translations, evil tends to indicate adversity, pain, toil, misery, and rottenness. Evil is basically the absence of love; it is like the vacuum of space in which nothing can thrive.

Don't buy into worldly definitions of our most basic beliefs. Let's not muddy the waters and add confusion. God is quite clear on right and wrong, good and evil.

"For God is not the author of confusion but of peace..." 1 Corinthians 14:33

That is why He is known as a light in the darkness, He shines clarity on a chaotic world. His spirit brings health to our soul so our fruits (the product of our actions) will be good.

The dichotomy of good and evil is real. There is a real battle every day for your soul. Everyone doesn't have good and bad in them; we are all bad without God. Holding onto Him as to a buoy in a storm, we hold onto His goodness and try to live life as He would, bringing hope to the world.



(Definitions are from Strong's Concordance)