What is good and evil?

The first sin that man committed is not the sin or murder, or the sin of theft, or what we called any of the major sin today. Instead, the first sin that man committed is the sin to define for ourselves the right to determine for ourselves what good and what evil really is. Adam and Eve sinned because they took the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 3:6) They did this because, they wanted to be like God, knowing good and evil. In other words, they wanted that right to define for themselves what good and what evil really is. They rejected God’s right to be the one and the one alone to decide what good and evil is.

That is the reason for the mess of the world today, with each man or woman deciding for ourselves what good and evil really is and because we disagree with each other on our definitions of what good and evil is, we quarrel and argue with each other and we even fought wars in the name of what we believe to be right. And since each of us has different definitions of what is right, the wars we fought and the murders we commit in the name of what is right is endless.

Oh, why can’t we accept that God alone has the right to determine what is good and evil. He is after all; the Potter and we are His clay. (Jeremiah 18:6)

Surely, He has the right to determine what we are and how our conducts are to be. (Romans 9:21)

21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honourable use and another for dishonorable use?

When we give God back His right and His right alone to determine what is good and what is evil, the world will become a better place.

For in Joshua 1:8, it is said that we will make our ways prosperous and have good success if the Word of God does not depart from our mouth and we meditate on it day and night. God promises in His Word that if we do what He says is right, and avoid what He says is evil, we will be prosperous.

Therefore, the first step to changing the world for the better is to accept that God is who He said He is, that He is good. (Psalm 25:8) If we truly believe His word that He is good, then we will believe also that He knows what is good and what is evil. If we truly believe that He knows what is good and what is evil, we will give up our own right to decide for ourselves what is good and what is evil and submit to His decision of what is good and evil. If we truly want to submit to what His decision is about good and evil, we will read His Word to find up for ourselves what His Word says is good and evil.

For in 2nd Timothy 2:16-17, it is said that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” It is therefore by studying God’s work that we know what good and evil is, and by doing only what God said is good, that we can be a better person and make this world a better way that before.

Therefore, let us go back to the basic of basics—that we accept God’s Word that He is good, truly believe it, accepts His right to determine for us what is good and evil, gives out our own tree of knowledge of good and evil and accepts His tree of life. Then, we study His Word and do all that He tells us is good and avoids what He tells us is evil.

Then the world will be a better place than before.