Good and Evil
Tree the knowledge of “Good and Evil”
Why did Jehovah God call that tree the tree the knowledge of “good and evil”? Why didn’t He call it the “Right and Wrong” tree or use another name? This tells us that what He most concerns us with is good and no evil, not “right or wrong,” and it is based on love.
In John 5:28-29 Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Who will Jesus resurrect and give life? Yes, people who have done “GOOD” deeds.
We are educated about what is right and what is wrong at school. They give us exams, and you get 100 points if your answer is right, and 0 if it is wrong. This world emphasizes “right and wrong,” but few people talk about how we should concern ourselves with “good and evil” first.
Yes, “right and wrong” is very important, but “good and evil” should be more important than “right and wrong.” Does school teach us about “good and evil”? Do we teach our children this concept and focus on things or behaviors related to “good and evil”? Do we direct ourselves with “good and no evil” first, rather than “right or wrong”?
“Good and Evil” or “Right and Wrong” ?
In a cafe, a male guest called a waitress over and said, “This has a wrong word in your menu!”
The waitress said, “Which one?”
“This one—this word is wrong. Haven’t you discovered this mistake?” the guest replied.
“Which one… Oh… this one. Yes, thank you…” And the waitress continued taking his order.
“Wow, your eyesight is so sharp. You can spot this typo that we haven’t discovered yet,” the waitress said, smiling (after a while).
“Why hasn’t any of you discovered it? Is it a new printout menu?” the guest asked.
“No, it has been used for a long time,” the waitress replied.
“Then why couldn’t any of you figure it out after so long? Didn’t you proofread it before you printed it?”, “…..? …! ….?!” the guest said.
The waitress seemed unhappy and impatient but couldn’t show it to the guest.
A woman—maybe the guest’s wife—seemed a little bit angry and said something to the man.
“What’s wrong? Do I have anything wrong? If I hadn’t pointed out this wrong word to them, they would never know about this typo, right? … , …” the guest said (seeming a little bit angry).
In the end, the man, his wife, the waitress, and even other guests were not happy.
“Right and wrong” is important, but what God most concerns us with is “Good and Evil,” not “Right and Wrong.”
So, “Right” and “Wrong” are not as important as we think. Many people emphasize, “I am right! I am right! You are wrong!!”
So, don’t get so angry, and please forgive your husband when he does something wrong or makes mistakes (maybe making something dirty and untidy), or your wife (maybe buying something wrong), or your kids (maybe doing homework wrong), or your mother, father, brother, sister, classmate, neighbor, colleague… or whatever. Whether we are wrong or right about some knowledge of the truth.
What God most concerns us with is “good and no evil.” He knows that we will know the truth eventually. But it doesn’t mean knowing the truth is not important; actually, it is very important that we should keep learning and keep asking the Father to give us the truth. Let us imitate God and show mercy to others, not pursue others’ offenses, love good, and hate evil.
Matthew 22:37-40: Jesus said, “And He said to him, ‘You shall love YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” As Christians and followers of Jesus, we know these two most important commandments. If we practice these commandments, we will show good to others, and then you will be God’s beloved child.
Amen.
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