The Conflict Between Good and Evil
Greetings, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to
explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly
Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This
morning we ponder our lives as seek to understand the meaning of the conflict between good and
evil.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Conflict Between Good and Evil
"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; but
as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua, Chapter 24, Verse 15.
When we are faced with the need to make a moral decision, conflict arises. We shall examine the
nature of this conflict, the nature of moral decisions, and their genesis.
"Insects are born fully educated and equipped for life--indeed, a very narrow and purely instinctive
existence. . ." Animals have subhuman minds and can think about purely problems concerning their
survival. Man--in addition to having knowledge--also has wisdom and worship. And this wisdom
and worship is justified because man has free will and is self conscious. This self consciousness, free
will, wisdom and worship qualifies him to recognize the Father, to recognize his own divine sonship,
which gives him a moral nature. Since man is self conscious and possesses wisdom and worship, he
is able to choose right over wrong. He can choose to survive this mortal life by choosing the Father's
will. And since man has free will and a moral nature, unlike the animals, he can choose his conduct.
An animal can only choose that which is in his nature, but man has the choice of not only choosing
that which is in his nature but also of choosing that which is in his divine nature. And these choices
of choosing between his nature and his divine nature create the moral conflict.
This moral nature implies that man is related to his brothers and sisters, who also have free will and
self consciousness. This brings in the bonds and obligations of interdependence. Man must be
capable of entering into an agreement with the Father, a partnership in his own creativity, his own
growth and development. He must rise above his own selfish interest in order to be moral. By using
reasoning and reflection, man is able to choose right over wrong. The values of selfishness are in
opposition to the values of unselfishness. And this creates the conflict in the mind of man. Man has
to choose which conduct he will abide by when interacting with his brothers and sisters. By choosing
good over evil, he initiates that growth of his own soul. But again this produces conflict in the mind
of man.
The natural self resents serving others. The conflict is inevitable. There is a war going on in the mind
of man at all times. And this war has to do with the needs and desires of self as opposed to the needs
and desires of other selves. "Every human being very early experiences something of a conflict
between his self-seeking and his altruistic impulses, and many times the first experience of God-
consciousness may be attained as the result of seeking for superhuman help in the task of resolving
such moral conflicts." Moral choosing is usually accompanied by more or less moral conflict. And
this very first conflict in the child mind is between the urges of egoism and the impulses of altruism.
The Father's spirit indwelling our minds and souls does not disregard the egoistic motive but places
a slight preference upon the altruistic impulse as leading to the goal of human happiness and the joys
of the kingdom of heaven. It is the impulse of the divine spirit that activates the will to be unselfish.
And it is this choosing of the free will of the self thus activated that compels the lower self to serve
the higher self. This conflict can only be resolved when the higher self eventually conquers the lower
self, and this is done by consistently choosing the will of the heavenly Father. The consistent
choosing of the will of the Father effectively places the lower self in subjugation to the higher self,
and the rebellion of the divided self ends since this lower self always says not my will but your will
be done.
All of this conflict and uncertainty creates the perfect scenario for man to acquire divine values.
Uncertainty creates a need for trust, hope, faith, peace, long suffering and joy. The need for trust only
develops in a situation where the self is thrown back on its inadequate resources, and like a ball
hitting the floor it rebounds back. This trust allows for peace to overflow as the soul faith-realizes
that everything is alright, regardless of the signals coming in from the outside. This trust and faith
allows the soul to realize that God is good. The need for hope is only created in the face of despair,
a despair that arises as the result of insufficient resources to change the outcome of a given situation.
One desperately longs for an increase in his status. One does not hope for what one has. And these
qualities that are needed in such a conflicting and uncertain situation become apart of man's nature
just as soon as he consistently chooses them, indicating an irreversible choice.
". . .The highest moral choice is the choice of the highest possible value, and always--in any sphere,
in all of them--this is to choose to do the will of God. Now this technique of choosing the will of
God is the only way that mortal man can transcend his selfish material nature for the unselfish
spiritual nature, which gives him the eternal identification and thus eternal status. These moral values
are presented to the consciousness of man by the divine spirit, and they are progressive. And this is
just why our angels constantly manipulate the social, moral, ethical and even physical environments
to present a variety of progressive moral and spiritual problems to be solved, an exercise designed
to create strong, wise, and spiritual souls. And such souls become true living sons of the Heavenly
Fathers. As Jesus said, "These thing have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and
that your joy might be full."
This concludes today's message on understanding the meaning the conflict between good and evil.
We hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
The Conflict Between Good and Evil
