A boy got up early in the morning and approached his dad:
– What is good, and what is bad? I want to ask!
I have no secrets, – listen, children, – here is my book with dad’s answer…
How few curious “children” there are today who even ask such questions in principle, and even fewer who can discern “good” and “bad,” who know (truly) even a little about this practice (discerning spirits)! What is good? What is bad? Nowadays, the very concepts of good and evil are losing not only their ontological but even their ethical significance! Heretics claim that there is no good or evil, that good and evil are relative concepts, depending on the perspective; since there is no good and evil as “either-or,” that is, as incompatible concepts that mutually exclude each other, there is no truth either! Everything becomes relative: good and evil, truth and lies, and so on. Therefore, let’s say a few words about good and evil: what (or who) is good and what (or who) is bad, what (or who) is good and what (or who) is bad?
The concepts of good and evil have always existed among all peoples, in all religions, and ultimately in every person (as evidenced by conscience, the inner natural voice that every person has, inherent desires for happiness, bliss, enjoyment…). We will speak about good and evil from the perspective of Christianity (Orthodoxy, Truth). Good in general is what is purposeful! And each person has their own goals, their own understanding of happiness! A Christian calls everything good that leads him to the Goal (Wholeness, Healing, Salvation, that is, union with God (Goodness, Good), to resemble the Lord Jesus Christ, to acquire the Holy Spirit, “that all may be one in the unity of the Holy Trinity” – see John 17). The true Good (the Good One) is (only) God! What brings me closer to this blessed unity-wholeness (John 17), what contributes to this, is good! A good deed is only that deed which is done for the sake of (in the name of) the Lord Jesus Christ (for the glory, thanksgiving of God the Father)! For the Lord Jesus Christ is the True, Blessed Goal of all existence. Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God, the fullness of the Holy Spirit for all creation! Evil is what distances me from the Goal, from Wholeness, Salvation (and, as a result, causes me hellish pain-suffering-passion! Evil is everything that distances me from God and brings me closer to hell (selfishness), that is, plunges me deeper and deeper into it). And the evil one is the devil, the deceiver, Satan, the blasphemer, the murderer, the liar-deceiver, the antichrist, and his servants! So, good is what leads, brings closer to the Goal (the Kingdom of God, Happiness); evil is what distances me from the Goal (Wholeness).
God is Good, Benevolent, Goodness, Bliss! Good is everything that makes creation resemble the Creator, brings it closer to the Heavenly Father. God is Humble Love, Mercy, so good is everything that produces the fruit of humility in me when I humble myself. For the goal of all deeds, labors, and struggles is to humble oneself (for God gives Grace only to the humble, poor in Spirit). Humility is what the Lord Jesus Christ commands to learn from Him: “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (see Matthew 11:29). Accordingly, evil is everything that distances me from the Goal (God), from humility; it is everything that fosters pride, selfishness, passions in me; what makes a person resemble the devil, the deceiver, the liar, the murderer. Therefore, deeds and virtues themselves are neither good nor evil! Deeds become evil or good depending on their fruits: humility or pride, realization of one’s sins or further blindness from seeing one’s “goodness,” “righteousness,” “holiness”! By their fruits, you will know them. For example, take the tax collector and the Pharisee: the virtuous Pharisee (proud) – a holy satan, and the sinful tax collector (humble), who repents, seeing the multitude of his sins (see Luke 18:10-14). Be vigilant! Beware! Today Satan, the antichrist(s), the false… teach that there is no good and evil (that is, there is no Truth), everything is relative, believe as you wish, live as you wish, all roads lead to God, and so on. Be vigilant! God is Love!
A doer of good is the one who humbles himself more and more! The more good he does (the good deed is only that which is done for the sake of (in the name of) the Lord Jesus Christ!), the more he humbles himself (the good deed is only that which produces the fruit of humility)! An evildoer is the one who increasingly falls into pride, establishes himself in selfishness, moves towards self-centeredness. There is no third option. Whoever is not with Christ is against Christ, he is with the antichrist; whoever does not gather with Christ (does not humble himself) scatters, loses, ruins his soul.
The word “sin” in the Church points to an inappropriate act (sin in Greek “hamartia” literally means “miss,” “not hit the target,” “off target”). Sin is lawlessness. The Lord, creating free beings (angels and humans), embedded conscience in their essence – a GPS navigator that suggests the correct, appropriate direction; conscience is the inner advisor, the natural knowledge of good and evil, knowledge of what leads to the goal and what distances from it. But conscience is not a dictator, just an advisor whose advice a person can either heed or ignore and act against it. But in the fall of man, conscience, like all human essence, was damaged; the GPS navigator began to inaccurately point to the target, to discern good and evil. The Lord gave the lost people the Law to help (for conscience was already powerless when it was completely damaged by the multiplication of lawlessness). And when the Law became a formality through Pharisaism, the Lord, incarnating, breathed into it the spirit of Truth, revealed the spiritual, inner, heartfelt meaning of the commandments (for example, see Matthew 5-7). Moreover, the Lord gave each person an angel guardian to help, an advisor! God is Love! God does not punish anyone; when a person ignores the voice of conscience, the commandments of God, they harm themselves, distance themselves from Goodness. The Law of God accurately points the way to the Goal; the commandments of God (Love for God and the image of God) are signposts on the path to Wholeness! The commandments of God are warnings, hints, instructions… for free beings. And they (people, angels), endowed with free will, can heed the warning (do not harm yourself!) of God-Love, or they can disobey (they have the power to crucify Christ or be crucified with Him). Hence, accident after accident, fall after fall…