Some things are clearly bad. And generally we seek to avoid these. But it’s a mistake to assume simply avoiding the bad is sufficient. Settling for something that is “not bad” is not that same as pursuing what’s truly good.
For example, there’s more to a good diet than just avoiding substance abuse. Fast food might be “not bad” in comparison to hardcore drug use, but it’s not necessarily the highest quality of food either. And ideally we’re pursuing the quality diet our body need to thrive and not just celebrating saying no to drugs.
In the same way, avoiding blatant sins doesn’t equate to seeking God’s best. For instance, not talking down to our wife doesn’t mean we’re using our words to build her up, not having an affair is not the same as cultivating passionate intimacy within our marriage, and not gazing to lust is doesn’t assume we’re also learning to see and bless the true beauty we see in each other. Certainly, not bad is better than bad, but it’s still not the same as good. And true faithfulness calls us to consistently pursue God’s best for us, and the highest expressions of love.
To be fair, stopping the bad is a good first step for many. But we must not be deceived and assume our journey ends here. All too often we’ve become complacent, and perhaps prideful, because at least we’re not doing those obviously bad things any more. To make an impact for good in the world around us means we must be actively pursuing the light and not just avoiding the darkness. In fact, we allow the reign of darkness to continue when we’re not advancing God’s kingdom of light.
In the end, pursue true good without merely settling for not bad. This is the path toward light and life the world desperately needs.
Photo by Daniel Bernard on Unsplash
