Wicked Good

Good and Evil. Remember them? Many believe they were invented by theologians in the Middle Ages and later popularized by animated angels and demons on the shoulders of cartoons and comedic actors. But check this out: they are really real, and really old, and always present to the soul in every choice.

But we live in an age where words like Good and Evil just sound so.... awkward. They are so glaringly crisp; their edges so.... sharp. We prefer a nice dulled handle on things today, don't we? Something curvy and cushy; kind of like a "sport grip" that contours to our particular touch. "Oooo, nice. This works for me!"

This talk of things being objectively Good or Evil just feels so heavy in the hand, so cold to the touch, like the hilt of a sword. We like things to "give a little" today. Now call me crazy but I have this sense that we're dead wrong here (oops, another awkward word... I mean non-right). I think western civilization is up to its neck in a quicksand of relativity. We're just looking at each other saying "Isn't it nice and warm in here? So niiiice!" as we slouch deeper into a Quagmire of Comfortability. Soon we'll completely lose our heads in this quicksand. Many already have it seems.

Am I being judgmental? Heck yes I am. We have to make judgments all the time. It's not a dirty word. When approaching quicksand my reason dictates that walking on it would be a poor judgment, because we're made to walk on solid ground. The solid earth, like everything in nature, is meant to remind us of its supernatural counterpart - the moral universe. Right and Wrong, Good and Evil.

We must do the Good, we must walk in its Way, and trying to negate it only creates dead air. It removes the bridge and leaves an infinite abyss. We must make solid choices again, simply because they are Good. They are True. We must steer clear of certain places and situations today because they are Evil or Wicked. Decisions must be made not just because they "make me happy" but rather because than make me holy. Not just because they feel good, but because they are Good.

At the end of the day, let's remember (or discover) that this objective truth about the Good is not an enemy, but a remedy. Objective truth actually corresponds to the deepest yearnings of our subjective experiences. And although it may take awhile to get our "land legs" back after living on this sea of relativity, every solid step we take takes us closer to the deepest peace. And that peace is a GOOD thing.