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Be as good as you can be April, 2008
Dear Friend, Good versus evil. These are the basis of nearly every book, movie and story ever told. If you want to be as good as you can be, you need to ask yourself two questions: Are you inherently good, but something brings out the bad in you? Or are you inherently bad, but something brings out the good in you? I read two books recently that graphically forced me to consider these two questions. One was "No Country For Old Men." The movie won the best picture Oscar award. When I was done, I put the book in the garbage. My 13 year old stepson was aghast! "You could at least give it to someone," he exclaimed. I said, "Why would I give something that bad to someone I care about?" Pure evil is the only way I can describe this fictional account of senseless barbarism in the '80's in Texas, USA. I'm now halfway through, "Long Way Gone," about a 13 year old African boy in Sierra Leone. It is a true story and the author spares no detail. Beautifully written, it is a close look at how one innocent child became transformed into a crazed, drugged killer, slaughtering his countrymen without mercy in the name of vengeance and survival. Like so many other war stories, man's darkest side is blatantly exposed. I love how Paul makes sense of good vs evil in the book of Galatians. He writes in Chapter 5:16, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." We have desires that are sinful. We have a Spirit that stands against these desires, so that we don't do what we inherently want to do. I believe this. I believe that History has proven that when the constraints of society such as rule of law fall apart, man's sinful desire quickly emerges. The examples are endless, including the looting in New Orleans during that disaster as a recent example, and Nazi Germany as a distant one. Wherever a dictatorship takes hold, sinful nature is soon to follow. Even many of our elected leaders can't do it, as we saw recently with the former New York state governor. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, goes the famous phrase. I want to be good. So do you, or you wouldn't be a reader of Present Living Thoughts. Jesus is the flawless role model, and we all fall short of the mark. I accept that. We're all doing the best we can. By focusing on being present and non-judgmental towards others and ourselves, we connect with the love of the Spirit within each of us. Then we rise to be as good as we can be. Imperfect but good.
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Reader Comments:
Feb 2008 issue, "You're
Good!"
http://www.presentliving.com/pastissues/Feb07.htm
Thank you John; this is very good! C. I feel very elated when I read your message because there is no doubt in my mind that everything you say I can easily relate. I am happy to find that I am in the right track. Take care. V. Thank you John. Your article was very inspiring! C. Thanks John. This is great reinforcement. Its been a good day and I’ve been getting better at practicing what you’ve taught me. B. |
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