The Problem of Good and Evil Within Us
Greetings and good morning 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 will ponder our lives as we seek to understand the problem of good and evil within us.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Problem of Good and Evil Within Us
“What is man, that thou are mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visits him, for thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.” Psalms Chapter 8, Verses 4 and 5.
Brothers and sisters, in today’s broadcast we explore the problem of good and evil within us. Every since that day, that the Father’s spirit has come to live in us, crowing us with “glory and honor,” we have had to deal with the conflict that is produced by the presence of good and evil within us. And this is because when the Father comes to live in us, we acquire a divine nature, a nature that is good, and this nature exists right along side the human nature which tends towards evil. This creates a dilemma for us because we must chose between the two natures in our moral and spiritual relationships. Paul describes this conflict in this manner: “ The good that I would do I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”
The visiting of the Father’s spirit is the occasion of the creation of our souls. And it is our souls that have the potential to discern the goodness of the Father’s spirit. And since we are free will creatures, we must choose which nature we will nourish and grow, whether we will choose good or evil. When we choose that which is good, we choose the Father’s will; when we choose that which is evil we choose our will.
The potential for divine living is concealed within our souls. This potential become activated when our souls are enshrouded with the Spirit of Truth, and we choose the Father’s will. This Spirit of Truth leads and guides us into the ways of Truth. When we choose the Father’s will, this Spirit shows us what the Father’s will is in any given moral or spiritual situation and how to implement it. The Spirit of Truth shows us what conduct is acceptable to the Father. Before the coming of the Spirit of Truth, all souls remained unconscious of the divine reality that is the Kingdom of Heaven, but every since that day two thousands years ago, all souls who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savor are born again and can enter the Kingdom of Heaven where they can clearly discern the difference between good and evil, truth and error. This Spirit of Truth also makes it possible to enjoy the divine values and meanings of the heavenly Kingdom. But in order for our souls “to wake up” we must choose to abide by Jesus command, to love one another as he loves us.
If we would escape the specter of evil, if we would escape the evil that proceeds from the impure heart, we must abide by his command for out of the unspiritualized heart flows evil thoughts: Selfishness, envy, lust, greed, revenge, hate, fear, jealousy, pride, bigotry, intolerance, impatience, and all sorts of wickedness. From the spiritualized soul comes thoughts of love: Compassion, sympathy, patience, courage, understanding, wisdom, humility, faith, truth, beauty, goodness, unselfishness, forgiveness, mercy and all that is good. But since the Father’s will is subject to our will when it comes to making moral and spiritual decisions, that is the Father’s will can not act unless, we choose it, this potential for good remains dominant. If the will chooses evil, then evil is actualized in temporary form but if good is chosen, it becomes a permanent spiritual reality.
As we think and choose so do we become. If we chose the material, we becomes increasingly material; if we chooses the spiritual, our souls become increasingly spiritual. The spirit places a differential pressure on the unselfish urges as the best way to achieve the goal of happiness. As the will chooses the divine impulse of love, the soul becomes more spiritualized and experiences more and more of divine truth, beauty, and goodness, and reinforces the will in its desire to love others unselfishly.
At times we are bewildered by the animalistic urges that appear in our thoughts seemingly from nowhere. But be that as it may, we must continue to chose between the emerging values of good and evil. Every time we chose good, the spirit of the Father spiritualizes us just a little bit more. Because we are incomplete, imperfect, we must constantly make moral decisions, choosing good over evil. Decisions, decisions, and more decisions, rigorous decisions, all of them moral are the rungs on the moral and spiritual ladder by which we climb from chaos to glory, from mortality to immortality, from imperfections to perfection, from incompleteness to completeness.
And finally brothers and sisters, we consider these words of admonitions: If we must be intolerant, let us be intolerant of choosing error over truth. If we must be greedy, let us be greedy for truth. If we must lust, let us lust after divine righteousness. If we must hate let us hate evil, sin, and iniquity. If we must fear, let us fear wrongdoing. If we must be selfish, let us be selfish in insisting on doing the Father's will. If we must be jealous and envious, let us be jealous and envious in guarding and keeping our relationship with the Father free from all wickedness and impurity as we lovingly submit to the Father's will in every moral and spiritual decision.
This concludes today's message on understanding the problem of good and evil within us. 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.
Your Kingdom Come; Your Will Be Done!
Inspirational Messages of Light
By Dr. James Perry
The Problem of Good and Evil Within Us
