The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
“For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” Luke 6:44-45
Sin is ugly, or, as my husband used to say about certain things, “Rude, crude, and grossly unattractive”. Sin stinks. Sin is against all that is godly, pure, truthful, pleasant, uplifting, and beautiful. One of the main problems with sin, other than it being the obvious enemy of God, is that there is so much of it. As they say, the more that you promote it, the more of it you will have. It is plastered all over television and the internet. It is found in every single home in the world, every single school, church, workplace, playground, anywhere people are. Besides being so plentiful, another problem is that people accept sin as if there is nothing wrong with it. One of the reasons that it is on display with such boldness is to increase the tolerance of sin among earth’s inhabitants. That has certainly been proven true by how much attitudes have changed toward all forms of sin. It is almost as if what used to be wrong and unacceptable in a polite society is no longer wrong, except, of course, to speak out for one’s Christian faith. That cannot be tolerated. Indeed the world has turned upside down.
Jesus said that folks are known by their fruit, that is, by their actions and behaviors and the results of those actions and behaviors. So how do we tell if a person is “good” or “bad”? We are not to judge others, but it is important to observe what others do and what they say in order to discover if we can trust them. I don’t particularly want to hang out with someone if I can’t trust him or her. Are they going to do things or go places that I wouldn’t want to do or go? While we are to be a witness to folks, we must use common sense around them. Jesus even warned His disciples about being careful around strangers in the towns to which they traveled to spread the gospel. He said for them to “be therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Be smart, but don’t be a smart-aleck. On the other hand, don’t assume everyone that you meet is your enemy. Give folks the benefit of the doubt until they prove to lack integrity or to be a bad influence.
What are the qualities of a “good” person? First of all, find out where they stand with the Lord. If they are truly born again, they have the most important criteria for goodness because they have the righteousness of Christ within them of which Christ exchanged for their sin when He died on the cross, and they received Him as Lord and Savior. However, do they follow Christ, or are they what is known as a “nominal” Christian, those who claim to be Christians, but their words and behavior belie their claim. There are folks who are the “salt of the earth”, would give you the clothes off their back, would go out of their way to help you, but they do not know Christ. Thus, a person can be a “good” person, but not be a Christian, indicating that being a “good” person does not make one a Christian. However, one who is a Christian should strive to be a “good” person by way of serving Christ by serving others. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 for believers to “let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
I think we all know what a “bad” person is: one who does bad things, who lies, who makes promises that he or she never intended to keep, who is selfish and self-centered, who has no regard for others or for their property, and a host of other traits which indicate that the “bad” person most likely has never surrendered to Christ. Perhaps they did at one time, but they allowed Satan to control them rather than the Holy Spirit, and thus they have diminished their witness and hurt the cause of Christ. As one of my former pastors used to say about believers who are “backslidden”, “God knows your house number, and He will be around to see you one of these days”. There is good news for them, though. John wrote in I John 1:9 that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Whether we rank another person as “good” or “bad” depending on their behavior, it is God who is the true Judge of people, and the One to whom all people will answer. Those who are believers will be judged as to the quality of their works while they were on earth, the good things that they did for Christ, but also the opportunities to do good that they ignored. Depending on the results, they will receive their rewards or perhaps miss out on rewards that they could have received. Their salvation was secured when they repented of their sin and placed their faith in Christ alone. Those who chose not to believe in Christ and did not repent of their sins will be judged on that criteria. The sins that they committed on earth will determine their punishment. The good that unbelievers do will not benefit them in judgment, but the good that believers do in the name of Christ will be rewarded. Whatever Christ decides for each person, it will be just.