Bad is bad

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11

Huey Lewis and the News, perhaps the last secular rock group I “got” sang the song, “Bad is Bad.” I liked it because I’ve never really liked the idea of calling good bad. I don’t know when the terms good and bad started being used interchangeably. I think calling good bad can be confusing, especially to those who have a difficult time telling the difference. Perhaps that is what the Prophet Isaiah had in mind when he said, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,…Isaiah 5:20.

It seemed as I was growing up the movies always had a good over evil theme. The good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats. Their actions made their character more recognizable than their hat color, and the good was accomplished for “goodness” sake. Somewhere through time the motives slowly changed, the good was accomplished for the benefit of “humankind” and the focus became more on the hero’s abilities not of good conquering evil and the end always justified the means; thus “revenge” movies evolved.

And now it seems that the conquest of evil; an increasingly subjective end state, is accomplished by whom, just a few years ago would have been considered the icons of evil. I’ll stay clear of examples to prevent controversies from distorting my point. I’ve always heard that I will imitate what I put into my mind through reading and viewing; GIGO (garbage in, garbage out.) So when engaging in conversation or seeking entertainment I’m going try harder to let Proverbs 8:13 guide me, He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it.

Bless you brothers, live this day in peace, in His Word.