There are often more shades of gray to life than we care to admit. The very people we look up to still sin. And those we might otherwise despise might also surprise us with moments of grace. To be sure, love calls for us to treat each other with understanding – learning to also see others as God does. All the same, spiritual maturity requires us to train ourselves to distinguish good from evil. And being compassionate and kind to others doesn’t mean we confuse darkness and light. These distinctions still matter.
Of course, all too often we place our own expectations onto others. And, because we like simple categories, this generally leaves little room for the complexities of the human condition. But we quickly become wise in our own eyes when our tolerance and understanding toward each other starts to blur the distinctions God has made.
As such, evil and goodness are not ultimately distinctions we make ourselves. And we’re prone to mistreat others or be disappointed by them when we do. God is holy. And any judgments we make should be based on his character, not ours. It’s pride that tempts us to believe we have the power to determine who is wicked and who is not.
Certainly, our words have power. And we should regularly consider how our words might be building others up or tearing them down. At the same time, the power of our influence doesn’t give us the power to redefine what’s true, good, and beautiful. God has defined this and our task is simply to rightly align ourselves with the distinctions he has already made, as we help others to do the same.
With Isaiah, we invite much sorrow into our lives when we treat what is evil as good and good as evil.
In the end, stay complex without forcing each other into simplistic categories of your own making. And don’t neglect the distinctions between goodness and evil that God has made. These distinctions still matter.
