If you want to be good, you must know evil.

It’s not so that you can look at evil and boast that you are good, but that you can make sure you’re avoiding evil.

It’s our lack of knowledge of good and evil that allows evil to exist and thrive in the world.

Now, if you look back at Genesis you might think that the bible is telling us to avoid that knowledge, as that’s what brought sin into the world.

You are correct…

But that was a time without sin and evil. It was all good. It wasn’t until Adam and Eve ignored God that they learned about evil and good, which brought sin into the world.

And through the rest of the Bible, we learn all about what Good and Evil look like.

And if there is a clear message in the bible it’s this:

There is nothing you can do to be good enough, for we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Not one of us is more good than the other.

You can focus your entire life on trying to be good, but it’s not until you see the true evil within your own heart that you can truly measure if you’re doing good or not.

And it’s only when you realize this evil you see out in the world is also deep within yourself that you understand, you have no hope on your own. We need a saviour to save us from our sinful and evil desires.

Only once you get to that point and understand that Jesus Christ has conquered sin and evil, can you be on the path of righteousness by avoiding what God calls evil.

Again, none of this makes you truly good or better than any other person. But once you truly understand that man’s wickedness and evil come from within his heart, you can avoid evil by understanding its source. And it’s this focus on avoiding what is evil and unpure, that actually makes you good. Because focusing on being good alone brings pride, and pride feeds the ego, which allows sin to enter into your life because you think you can do this all on your own.

So, if you want to be good in this world, you must understand what it means to be evil.