Goodness Always Prevail
Let’s face it. Life is a continuous battle between good or evil. We are faced with this dilemma every single day of our lives, in every choice we make.
Like a tug-of-war, we are pulled in opposing directions. And every time we make a choice, we are reinforcing our values, our character, our destiny- for better or worse.
There is just no middleway. Even the Bible scoffed at the idea of being ‘lukewarm’. It is either you are for God or against Him. You’re either part of the solution or part of the problem. There is simply no in-between. Make a stand. That’s what it all boils down to.
Doing what’s good, even though hard, will not only gain you blessings and favor before God’s eyes but more so eternal happiness. The kind of happiness that does not need validation from others. The kind that stays with you even during rough times. People who are acquainted with God’s ways know that God is always there to help. Rough times could not dampen their hopes for God. HE is always there at the appropriate time. So why worry?
This is probably the thing that those who don’t believe in God lacks. They rely on their efforts alone or, if not, on other people who are as frail as them. They have no external and internal support. When their efforts fail, everything falls apart.
At some point in our lives, we all face struggles that simply overwhelm us. During those times, we need to look beyond ourselves for assistance to be able to cope. With God, we will find that strength that will make us better equipped to face life’s struggles.
Goodness prevails in the end.
November 14th, 2006 at 12:43 am
Gwendolyn,
Hello. Greetings. Welcome to 451!
I just stopped by after noticing Allison’s mention of your arrival. I can be slow.
Right off the bat, I read this posting, and wham, right off the bat, I had to respond. You’ll discover my comments can run a bit long, but I hope you’ll hear me out, please.
Without giving too much away about myself (and all my trials and tribulations), I must take issue with your statements: “This is probably the thing that those who don’t believe in God lacks. They rely on their efforts alone or, if not, on other people who are as frail as them. They have no external and internal support. When their efforts fail, everything falls apart.
At some point in our lives, we all face struggles that simply overwhelm us. During those times, we need to look beyond ourselves for assistance to be able to cope. With God, we will find that strength that will make us better equipped to face life’s struggles.”
I disagree, I disagree, I disagree! In the strongest, yet, also most polite terms
I was raised in the Christian church, and spent the first part of my life as an adept adherent thereto. The balance of my time on Earth has been devoted to philosophical and practical growth, as well as frequent battles for sanity.
I’m bipolar. Years ago, beginning in my early teens, I was often deeply depressed, and occasionally suicidal. I have the scars, inside and out, to prove it. At least one medical journal features a case of effective treatment for extreme poisoning, for once upon a time, I was not supposed to awaken from a coma, or if so, be a vegetable. I’m recalling broccoli, but it could have been spinach.
I’m “dead” serious, here, Gwendolyn.
As you may imagine, I am here now, a lifetime away, no blindness, no brain damage (although some might argue ;-), no ill effects whatsoever.
I attribute my recovery to luck, hard work, science, chance, positive waves (I, too, believe in positive and negative forces), and my own physical resilience.
Throughout all of my struggles those days, with “peace” or the lack thereof, I always remembered the following exchange:
“I prayed to God for strength. I prayed to God for peace. I prayed to God for help, but he never heard me.”
“Now, now. God hears every prayer. It’s just, sometimes the answer is no.”
Like the billboard that read, “Feeling distant from God these days? Guess who moved.”, I believe God is all of that and much, much more. And much, much less.
I am as bipolar now as ever I have been. I have ups and downs. I’ve stopped participating in Christian rituals (other than pagan Christmas, etc.), and I’ve stopped consuming the various prescribed medicines and proscribed treatment plans dedicated to “curing” me.
I am probably more well-balanced now than ever before, and have been for about a generation or so.
I am no better now, in regard to what I do and how I interact with the world, than ever before. If anything, due to unrealistic hopes or expectations, I am practically better at being better than most folks I know.
I have a genuine well of strength and resilience which I restore and replenish in myself, and by myself. I enjoy others, and certainly experience their changing moods, but do not rely upon them justify my existence, or make me happy.
I continue to face personal battles, sometimes on a daily basis. Occasionally, I am caught off guard, or even thrown out of balance. Usually, a little quiet contemplation… Cosmic “reasoning” ensues, and my vertigo is relieved.
But, Gwendolyn, irrespective of biblical admonition, I am not against God. I am all for God, in fact.
I don’t believe my strength comes from God, however, any more than I think my darker moods are caused by the “devil.” I am a human being, and as such capable of choosing, from a remarkably early age, what I do and what I think. I have found I like being “good” almost all the time. I surely like it when folks are “good” to me.
I’ve been bad, and it makes my stomach turn and my head spin, just like when I am hurt by others for no reason (or even for reason, for that matter :-). Nevertheless, my first reaction when attacked is often to fight back. Usually, I catch my breath before opening my mouth or raising my hand. Sometimes, I fail. But always I learn, and hopefully, get a little better as I go.
I looked for the God of my father and mother, more than once during the kind of struggles you mention, and each time I was alone. Not separate from God, simply the same as everything God created… With one critical exception: I can reason.
Even in an unreasonable world, I can find reason to be.
When someone tells me they’re having a bad day, I tell ‘em, hey, they’re all good days. Try missing a few.
I know I did. Never saw any bright lights, though.
Now, there was that time I was a teenager, driving down the freeway doing about eighty, fell asleep just before the road curved, wound up upside down, caught in a great metal accordion bouncing over six lanes for about a quarter of a mile before coming to rest in the fast lane. That night, and for some days after, I saw a whole lot of bright, bright lights.
God, did I!
Welcome once again, to 451!
Good to have you with us
November 14th, 2006 at 6:41 am
Dear Tim,
I have to say that I’m so grateful that you brought this out in the open so we will have the chance to relate the theory to the real world. Okay to begin with, I have to state that my major premise here is that God gives us external and internal support thus strengthening us.
And you disagree with me, right?
Because from your reasons, I can glean that you never actually feel His presence all throughout your struggles. You believe that, if more than anything else, it is not God but science and your ability to cope that got you through the difficulties. I hope I get it right.
Actually, you are right. I agree with you. Science and your resilience got you through the difficult times and have served you well up to this point. I have no doubt about that. But…for me, science and resilience works - up to a certain extent.
You said so yourself that you were able to survive a life-and-death situation something which would have make some people a vegetable for life or put them in coma. That what cure you was not an act of God but an act of medicine.
This is the point where I don’t agree with you and I say this in the most respectful manner Tim.
Did it ever occur to you that God was at work during those very critical days when you got ill? That HE just gave you second chance at life?
I see a lot of people whose chances of survival were so high yet unexpectedly they succumbed to illness. Like this healthy young girl, 17 yr. old daughter of a Senator here. She just ate fish balls sold on street. It turned out that the food was dirty and a few days later she died. Just like that.
At the same time, I also see people whose chances of survival were practically nil but managed to survive. Like, my aunt who was in the final stages of breast cancer and was given two days to live. Today, 18 years later she’s still here, stronger than ever. Like you, Tim.
You could say that those are brought about by the miracles of medicine/science. But what about those people who have every chance of surviving yet didn’t make it? Are they miracles of science too? How could healthy, young people whose chances of survival by medical reasons are so high succumbed to ordinary, curable illnesses? And some others should have every medical reason in the book to lose the battle yet managed to survive? Does science choose whom it saves?
You see several factors are at work here. Factors which could spell the difference between life and death. Factors which could lead to failure or to miracles!
Science just like the doctors, scientists behind it is subject to limitations too. Doctors can be overconfident. Let’s say they think the problem is a simple case of diarrhea then much later the patient died because they didn’t look much closer. Or, doctors could get tired too. Even if they want to save the patient but their tiredness prevented them to think thoroughly.
Yes science works and resilience too but up to a certain extent. I know this may sound naïve but I believe science can work to the extent that the Higher Force allows it to.
The doctor had practically every reason to give up on you, yet you survived. Where did the doctor get this ability to be able to be at the right place and at the right time just to help you? Don’t you think that Someone Up There loves you so much that HE put you in the hands of the most capable doctors so you will live to tell your story? That Someone Up There gave those doctors who treated you the intense desire to help you at all cost to the best of their knowledge and ability just to make sure that you will make it thru?
It’s either you were SO LUCKY or SO LOVED! Either way we both know that something beyond human efforts was at work there. Had there been one glitch during that critical time, you probably won’t be well today. But everything was perfect. Everything worked out for the best.
That alone was a Huge Miracle!
When your car turned turtle and you were saved again, I’d say you must have nine lives! Your angel must be working overtime to keep you out of trouble. I mean the car could not probably steer you out of trouble on its own, could it? A Higher FORCE was at work there, again.
God has manifested during the most critical times in your life and you didn’t see it. Perhaps, this is the time for you to acknowledge it.
The whole point I’m driving at is this – if you believe, no explanation is necessary. If you don’t, no explanation is enough.
Everything starts and ends with you. Remember though that in every endeavor, belief is the main ingredient. If you want to play tennis but you don’t believe you have the talent, energy and ability to play it, then you lose even before the battle begins.
So, take baby steps. Start at BELIEF then take it from there. Give God a chance to show HIS love to you.
I’m glad to make your acquaintance in 451. Thanks for the warm welcome!=)
November 14th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Dear Gwendolyn,
Thank you for the considered response.
You and I seem to be the book length commentors
Naturally, I’ll respond in kind, and hope it won’t run too long this time.
It’s possible you have misread, or more likely, I miswrote =), the sentiments I tried to express.
The argument you make regarding science, medicine, etc. is not mine. I don’t put any more stock in modern medicine and the people who practice it, than I endow garage mechanics or computer technicians or blog writers.
Each of us pursues a course in life, some many, much of which blossom into careers and occupations. Some folks are born searchers, lighting like butterflies for a time, then moving on.
Each of us, in our way, is a part of the whole, the everything of life as we perceive.
Some of us are great doctors, mechanics, technicians, writers, even searchers; but all of us are human.
What being human means to me, and what I was trying to convey, as my opinion, obviously… We are volitional creatures, BUT, we are also an integral part of a literally incomprehensible, self-directed whole. I won’t say universe, because that word itself assumes there is only one or and endless array as yet unseen. Since our words are so inherently limited, I’ll stick with “whole.”
But further, a “self-directed whole.”
If I were to believe, as you do, that there is a God who will see me through the very toughest times in my life… When the best resources on earth are not sufficient to save me, then I must also believe that same God allowed my peril at the start.
That same God has kept your Aunt alive 18 years after her imminent death was forecast, also killed that Senator’s daughter for gabbing a quick bite to eat.
There are no two ways about it. Among the conclusions I reach about THAT God are:
• Incompetency
• Fallibility
• Capriciousness
• Enmity
• Myopia
Gwendolyn, I’m sorry, but the power, the imagination, the essence of whatever brought “the whole” into being simply cannot – to my way of thinking – possess or exhibit those qualities. They may be human, but they are certainly Godlike.
The God I envision may be many things, certainly many things I cannot even begin to comprehend, but likewise cannot be any of the things I do understand.
Even love, as we know it, is flawed. The love of the God you propose is at least as flawed as human love, and due to its very breadth, that much more tragic.
No, Gwendolyn, I cannot make myself believe the power that created me is anything like a human being, or even thinks as a human being does. That just makes no sense at all.
And the creation we experience, imperfectly and incompletely, chaotic and cruel sometimes, makes perfect sense.
We might not like to think we’re on our own here, dependent upon ourselves and interdependent with others, responsible for ourselves and responsible to others, but that’s what I believe is so.
I don’t feel less powerful, or more so, I feel as capable as I’ll allow myself to be.
Being self-reliant doesn’t make me weak, or godlike. It does make me happy. The way learning to walk made me happy.
I was about to go on, but I’ll stop here. Just got a phone call. My Mother-In-Law had a massive stroke two weeks ago, and though home for several days now, she’s quite disoriented just now, I need to go spend some time with her.
I won’t credit God with the years she lived in relatively good health, or with causing the incredible pain she’s experiencing now.
For me, the real wonder in this world, it’s that I’m writing to you and you’re writing back, and we get to ponder where it all began and why.
Now THAT’S a miracle!
Take care
-Tim
http://www.statecraftinformer.com
November 15th, 2006 at 7:40 am
Dear Tim,
I certainly hope my answer won’t run to two pages long this time. I will try my best.
I’m glad that at least you consider the idea that God is behind us during our struggles. Now the puzzle we are trying to decipher is if a flawed God is behind the reason for our struggles to begin with.
Yes, God allows trials to come our way. Just as He allows miracles to happen in the midst of our struggles.
Although, I believe that you cannot pin the blame on God alone for the perils that come your way.
I mean, you can’t blame God for something that you do. When your car turned turtle, you have to own up to the fact that God didn’t drive the car for you. You did. God did not doze off and drive. You did.
When my aunt got sick with breast cancer, we know that God did not give her the illness. She got it from unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise and sleep.
Cause and Effect. For every action there is an equal and equivalent reaction.
These are not acts of God but acts of Man.
Why are we always quick to blame God for the bad things that befall us? But slow to thank Him for the blessings He showered upon us?
Granted that to some extent God has allowed evil in our lives the same way that He allows saving grace to help us, why whine about this?
Things happen for a greater purpose.
Let’s face it. Pain is sometimes a necessary evil.
When I look back, the most cherished memories I have were not those times when I had it all. When I lived in excess. No. In hindsight, I think those were the loneliest times of my life because I felt empty then.
The happiest times were when I was at my wit’s end; not knowing what to do or where to go next yet despite the insurmountable odds, I came out triumphant in the end.
I always look back at those days with deep gratitude.
I know that the person I am now is a better, stronger, more capable version of past myself because of the trials I’ve been thru.
God gave me those trials for a reason. I have no cause for complaints.
As I’ve said, it all boils down to belief. The desire to know God and serve Him is not something I can do for you. I can only affect you to the extent that you allow me to. You are in the midst of a personal Quest. Don’t be in a hurry to end the search though. Let the realization dawn on you little by little. When you arrive at a place where you feel perfectly at peace, then you found what you’ve been looking for.
November 15th, 2006 at 8:23 pm
Dear Gwendolyn,
This may be my last comment here for a while.
I’m not quick to blame God for anything. Neither do I give God credit for anything.
Everything… Yes.
Anything… No.
I take full responsibility for my life and my life alone. I believe others should do the same, but still I try to be as helpful as I can be.
What I referred to, specifically, was the “allowance,” not the causation, of “evil,” in the form of physical and psychological handicaps, catastrophic events, mass extermination, poverty, injustice, hatred, etc.
The “God” I believe created everything, also allowed that all of the above – and more – were part of the human condition, and, in fact, part of the condition of all life forms. I don’t believe we are any different than any other creature, great or small, except in our current position as (as far as we know) the only volitional, sentient beings on Earth.
In time, I mean scientific historic time, this may change. One day, long after the very hint of us is gone, other creatures may enjoy our abilities; perhaps even a great deal more. Maybe our own distant posterity themselves will evolve into more useful, effective creatures.
In the meantime, I cannot credit “God” with either allowing evil to exist as a way to “test” us, or providing goodness as a way to make his glory known. I don’t think God gives a damn about glory, no offense intended.
I never proposed that “God is behind us during our struggles,” or that I “pin the blame on God” for whatever we experience here on Earth, good or ill. Our existence itself, as you pointed out, is fraught with trials. I don’t consider pain a necessary “evil.” It’s just a fact of life. As is love, joy and sorrow. Part of the human condition.
I never said God was behind the wheel of my Pontiac, or your Aunt’s eating habits. What I thought I said was that I cannot conceive, even in my weakest moments, that the force behind everything that is or ever will be, cares what kind of car I drive, what kind of food your Aunt eats, whether I live and she dies, or vice-versa.
I will die. She will die. You will die. Everything lives and dies. Some children live to be 100. Some children to 100 hours. That is the luck of the draw. Either way, all our days are numbered. If we join back up with the everything from which we sprung, it certainly will be a magical mystery tour, indeed.
If I thought, for one moment, that faith in God, as is most widely practiced by human beings today, would lead to people better appreciating the time they have here on Earth, or helped them make better choices about how to treat their fellow creatures, I would be leading the way toward global indoctrination.
I see the various and sundry religions now, and since records of them were first kept, as just another way to separate people from doing the right thing by each other, and worse yet, justifying the dirty deeds.
It doesn’t matter that you, or anyone else may say, “Well, that’s not the intention behind Christianity, or any other organized religious philosophy.” It doesn’t matter because that is, and has been, the practical result.
I would love to see harmony and peace win the day. I’d even enjoy seeing a moment of general human camaraderie.
I believe that will happen only after human beings have outgrown their recent perceptions, and develop different philosophies which will actually help lead them to that “promised land.”
For now (cause now is all I’ve got), I take comfort in those small moments, those individual, and occasionally collective times of pure, natural bliss, which occur randomly and seem to appear to those who often aren’t even looking.
I agree with you, with every fiber of my being, that we do not have God to blame for our misfortunes. I disagree just as strongly, however, and maybe more so, that we have God to thank for any of our good fortunes. Both are available here on Earth. If we live long enough, we will each have our share of both, notwithstanding “God.”.
But I don’t think God is keeping an eye on us to see how each of does. My understanding of “my” God comes from what I perceive to be true clarity, and clear goodness: “my” God is NOTHING at all like me.
“My” God is probably NOTHING at all like anything I know or can even imagine.
For a long time, human beings thought the “image” of God was to be found in space, or on or in the Earth, or in themselves. I think, in very real ways, they were all correct. I, too, think “God” exists in all of that, and more than we can ever grasp.
It’s only in the last several thousand years of human history that people decided to believe “God” was not only “in” us, but that human beings, and human beings alone, were actually created in the very image of “God.”
Since we seem to be the only creatures (that I know of for sure) imbued with an “ego,” it’s understandable that, at least for this flickering moment in the great expanse of time, human beings would choose to believe that.
Gwendolyn, you say, “I know that the person I am now is a better, stronger, more capable version of past myself because of the trials I’ve been thru.”
I say, I hope so, because that’s really your only job as a human being. If you’re not here to learn, to improve, to get “better,” than truly, why bother?
To avoid eternal damnation? What’s wrong with the here and now? I’ve lived long enough to see damnation right here on Earth, and that’s more than enough incentive for me to try to get better.
I’m not in the “midst of a personal Quest,” anymore than any other creature living on Earth.
I don’t believe there is a place where human beings can feel “perfectly at peace,” for more than moments in time, though I do thoroughly enjoy the feeling.
If having a personal relationship with God makes it possible for you to get to that place, then you certainly don’t need my opinion gumming up the works.
And since I have found peace in my philosophy, and a sense of universal connection through my life, it may just be better for me to leave well enough alone, too.
On that note, I smile, and wish you well, Gwendolyn.
Perhaps other subjects…
November 19th, 2006 at 8:00 am
Dear Tim,
I apologize for the delay in response, I got ill and I had problems logging in to my account. I just logged in now. It’s kinda late here but I intend to address the issues you brought up soon.
Thanks for a very stimulating discussion on this topic.
November 26th, 2006 at 4:28 am
Oh My Goodness. I have had such a crazy life over the past 7 years. All I can say is that my God is in control and he has truly blessed our family daily. We have been through the valleys and the mountain tops over the past 7 years, and our God has always been there through thick and thin. When I have thought I can’t take any more my God has always given me and my family more strength than I would ever believed. Once again we are going through the valley after 7 years, but I know all is well with my soul. My God will always be the one that is above all of Satin’s ugly purpose that he tries to over come. My God is awesome and will always be above all evil. My God is in control of everything. I love my Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart and soul, and can not wait until we all as Christians are called home.
Thanks for reading.
Denise (Mother of 2 daughters and grandmother of 2 precious grandbabies)>>>>>>
November 28th, 2006 at 7:58 pm
To my sister in Christ Denise,
That is so nice! I feel the same way. Everything starts and ends with God. God takes precedence over everything in my life. All else is secondary. And I agree with you, with God I feel so happy and fulfilled everyday of my life.
I pray for you and your family Denise. Thanks for writing!
Gwen
November 28th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
Dear Tim,
This reply is long overdue. I apologize for the long delay. I’ve been unwell for the past week. The huge fiesta preparation and the eventual fiesta celebration drained me totally.
Yes, Tim you’ve found your niche in your ‘ability to reason’ just as I found my place in my ‘faith’.
You need a reason to believe. I don’t. That’s the whole point of contention. I believe in God as naturally as I breathe in air.
This God-driven philosophy has served me well. I am very happy, yes. I also found inner peace. That is why it is hard for me to see your point of view ‘coz I could not imagine myself doing otherwise. Vice versa.
I will not convince you to believe in my God ‘coz you are doing well in your life with your belief. “Why fix the faucet when it’s not broken?”
The bottomline is as long as you are decent, positive and loving person then you exhibit more Christian traits than probably most Christians do.
That’s the whole point of religion, whether Christianity, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism or Muslim. If it makes you the best person that you can be then it has served its purpose.
After all, we are all here to make the best that we can in what we have - people, time, resources. And you made good use of those so I see no point in challenging your perspectives. You are what you are because of what you believe in. I have high regards for people who think for themselves as oppose to people who accept everything hook, line and sinker.
If we are not made to think, then what are we made for after all? The ability to think and reason is what separates us from the primates. The ability to believe in God is what clothe us with divinity.
I wish you and your family well too, Tim. I hope you will be successful in all your endeavors particularly the blogging.