Side note: It's been almost a year
since I've had this blog, which is pretty epic. I've had a few emails sitting
in my inbox marked as "unread" so they sit at the top. They are all
blog topic suggestions of things that I would someday like to write about.
They're going on 2 months now... Life gets crazy sometimes - especially this time of year.
Ok.
Well, what I wanted to
talk about today is good vs. evil. One of the posts I've been wanting to write
about is black/white vs. gray – or just to think about good, evil, and apathy.
And, I've had a few thoughts:
1. Black and white makes
it much easier to see where you fit
2. Gray is all around
us, where it is an illusion, and its dangers.
3. What does “good” mean
and is it worse to be “evil” than to be apathetic?
I grew up in Utah County.
As in, minorities and different opinions were something you vaguely heard about
in the news. In fact, as a family, we traveled to Washington DC where my
littlest siblings first saw people of different races {in person}. Then, I
moved to the Chicago area for high school. That opened my eye, that’s for sure.
Well, when I went out to
college, people kept asking me which one I liked best. The thing is, they are
very different. In Utah, standards and ways of life really meshed together,
whereas in Chicago, differences were pronounced. Utah was more gray, Chicago
was black/white.
In my family, there is a
LOT of talent and genius. I often feel like a dunce for being just
"average" in dance, music, in physics, math, English, etc. See, if my
life were black and white, it would make my decision making process much easier,
I would know where I belong.
However, life is gray in
a lot of ways. And, that can be good. I am thoroughly enjoying this past year
since I’ve graduated college and been completely left to sink or swim, to learn
who I am, or to fall because I didn’t make a decision.
Of course, gray isn’t
all it’s cracked up to be. I was at my aunt and uncle's house for Thanksgiving,
and two of my cousins were having a philosophical discussion about ninjas
vs. Samurai. The argument finally boiled down to one was good and the
other was evil. The trouble was, neither was perfectly good, or perfectly evil.
So, being a natural-born eavesdropper, I had to ask, "What does it mean to
be bad?" My younger cousin - a senior in high school - loved to think
about that, and tried to make a case that good/evil is relative. I, however,
was trying to be sarcastic. I already know what it means to be good, and
what it means to be bad. And, so would my cousin if he would remember that all
good things come from God, which we find all over the scriptures - like here, and other things
are counterfeits (which is another post I want to write about). I may not be a good physics person, but I sure am an amateur philosopher and have firm opinions and I naturally assume everyone agrees with me - who wouldn't? :)
So, choose ye this day. Where do you stand?
Sure, not everything in life is black and white, but there are distinctions.
Remember the lesson about dog poop and brownies? I do. It was disgusting. Don't rationalize away the evil, but understand that true perfection isn't always possible in this life. So, search out when they just put a little extra salt in the brownies or slightly burned them, as close as you can get it to what is good.
I've thought a lot about
apathy, about hatred, about passion, and I come away thinking that it is better
to care about something, even if it is wrong, than to not care at all. See, even Saul was going about persecuting people,
which was not the "right" thing to do, but his path was changed, he
didn't have to be compelled to feel. Alma the Younger was much the same. They
may not have been accepting truth, but they were at least consciously leading
their lives, and they both changed, found the truth, and became great prophets. The Lamanites were traditionally taught to hate the Nephites and to do things that are not "good", but once they learned the truth, they embraced it all their lives.
So, choose today to find what is right, what is good, and avoid that which will distract you, or
cause you to forget where you want to go.
“Don’t give up what
matters most for what matters in the moment.”
In order to move forward, we need to choose to
believe in Christ, or choose another path. But to just be obedient because of
how you were raised, or because it is convenient, cheaper, or whatever, won't get you anywhere. Make a decision. Choose to act.
Unfortunately for
my pride, this post may have been rather… wordy. But, I hope it made some
sense. There are more aspects that I’d love to keep rambling about, but I’ll
have some sympathy and cut it short. Choose to be hot, or to be cold. Lukewarm water doesn't have much of a purpose. Choose deliberately to move forward and come unto Christ, on purpose.
I've been reading "The Giver" to a group of 5th graders. As I read your post, I kept thinking about how so many people today want everything to be the same for everyone--and The Giver exemplifies that to an extreme. Everyone is lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. No bad choices, no good ones. I, too, prefer to make my life choices and go forward with the consequences, even when those consequences aren't the ones I would have chosen. I really don't want to be spewed from Heavenly Father's mouth because I've become lukewarm. I will think about this post some more.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify - I think lukewarm is bad - just like being evil is bad... Not that lukewarm is worse than being cold. I never did get around to concluding that part. I just feel that often times we forget how bad it is not to care... if that makes sense.
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ReplyDeleteFrom my view, the world loves gray. They lounge in it, bond and cling to it. So many it acts like a gravitational force desperately pulling against anyone trying to move away. I can almost see it like tar slowing people trying to break free (except more sentient, and with a purpose). Standing up for white paints a target on your head and the masses will surround you hoping to pull you back down (criticize, insult, or block what you hope to achieve). They're most comfortable when no one tries to leave (it makes them feel better about themselves).
ReplyDeleteIn the world today, the voices of gray easily drown out most of whatever opposes it. It's so easy to criticize or point out mistakes from an anonymous distance.
But is it important that the tar-like grip of the masses pulling against those seeking to do good often achieve exactly what those seeking to be evil hope for? Obviously, I think yes -- because you'll find yourself surrounded more by thoroughly gray, than truly evil.
Also, once ruined or pulled back into the gray writhing mass, these individuals often seem to expend all their energy trying to do the same to others.
I like what you have to say :) I would like to throw an idea out there, if I may.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a good example of "good" is Alma's definition when he is talking about seeds. A good seed was one that proved fruitful.
Even though there are absolute universal laws of cause and effect, the application of those laws and the goals of individuals are not so universal.
Consider, for example, the idea of human sacrifice. Was it good for Abraham's father to offer him up as a sacrifice? What about when Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice his own son? What about when Heavenly Father sacrificed HIS son? There is a somewhat universal Law of Sacrifice in play here, but can you judge when or how it is good or bad without being connected to God?
I love the Samurai vs. Ninja example. Which is good? Well, that depends. If you want to be a Samurai, then the way of the Samurai will do you a lot of good. But it won't do you much good if what you want is to be a Ninja. And neither will do you much good if you want to be a gardener.
Good and Bad basically are relative; relative to the goal and to the situation. Using Alma's seed analogy, it depends on what kind of fruit you want and what season it is and the local climate. Can we say whether any natural fruit on this earth is good or bad? I like cashews. But to eat cashews raw can cause death. So cashews are evil, right? I mean, they won't even grow in some places of the world!
I figure, God made all things and called all of his creations "good." That includes both the devil and the Savior. Perhaps there really does need to be opposition in all things. So in the end, you might say that it is "good" that we have "evil."
I wish I could 'like' all the comments. Good and Evil is quite the discussion to take on. Thanks for adding to the discussion and helping us all think and remember. :)
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