Understanding the difference between good and evil can be a complex problem to wrap your head around. It is often one of the first few arguments non-believers have when they’re talking about Christianity. You might’ve heard people say, “If God only wants good to prevail, why are there evil people in the world?”

It’s a valid question and it’s something Christ followers often struggle with. To clarify the confusion surrounding this topic, we’re going to attempt to answer this question today. Remember, the almighty consistently gives us ways of understanding Him more every day, so don’t be sad that knowing the difference between good and evil is hard for you. It’s a process of continuous learning!

“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].”

• Isaiah 45:7

The Meaning of Good

We know that God is good. The Bible goes into great detail to ensure we are familiar with this truth, and getting behind this truth is easy. For a true believer of Christ, it can be easy to believe that God only wants the best for us, but a person with a weak faith might believe otherwise. In certain instances, God’s actions and His ways might not always make sense to us, and we might not call them good.

But in these instances, we can know that his definition of good is always better than ours and that his decisions come from His perfect character. According to Jesus, “No one is good – except God alone.” These ideas stretch our thinking can require a lot of faith. But upon strong belief in this idea, we can conclude that God is the definition of goodness.

The Meaning of Evil

In his book The Attributes of God, the theologian A.W. Trozer puts it best, “all things as they move toward God are beautiful, and they are ugly as they move away from Him.” Many of us tend to think that a thing can only be evil if it hurts people. But is that the only difference between good and evil? According to John Piper, apart from this human-centric view, evil can mean a lot more. In his video, “Is Something Evil Only If It Harms Others?” he claims that all kinds of evil stem from people finding satisfaction in anything but the Almighty.

Everything in the universe has been made as an image of God. When you hurt others, you are devaluing something He has created. Evil is an offense to God’s perfect character because when you choose the path of evilness, you consciously decide that something else is better.

Wrapping Up

We are all an integral part of God’s redemptive story. If you believe in him, he’s going to stay with you forever and the difference between good and evil will always be clear. If you’re trying to get a better understanding of God’s nature and how his help can clarify the difference between good and evil, Dr. Andrew Knight can help. Contact him today on +1 877-411-5300.