It would seem to me that there are more discrepancies between defining 'good' than there are in defining who God is. For every different belief of who the Supreme Being is, there are also variations within that group who differ on how 'they' feel the Supreme Being feels.

I just saw a short video, entitled, "Are People Born Good?"

It seemed to present a point that it is more important whether we believe people are born good than whether we believe in God.

It was posted on Facebook, and it defined a moral and judging creator ...not really specifying God.  I was glad our Pastor quickly and simply mentioned what was not mentioned at all in the video ...God's son, Jesus.

I also wholeheartedly embrace that simple truth of the event that Jesus died that we may have life...and I can simply open up to you, but when I get here, you may laugh and say, "That boy doesn't allow anything to be simple."

Well, I aspired to stay in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, live in a small town where the streets rolled up at 9:00 pm, and raise my own vegetables ...so, is that simple enough for you?  It would seem God had different plans.

Instead, I was exposed first to the behaviors and curriculum of a college campus, the frustrations of trying to compete in the dwindling availability of a work force, and trying to acclimate to city life.  I got a job in a Mental Hospital, and when that closed I had to transfer to a Mental Health Prison.  To say the least, I learned things that I felt I never wanted to learn ...that life wasn't simple.

So, what did I learn ...perhaps you can discern.

Was it for the good, or for the bad?

And why is life not always simple?  Well, in the field of mental health there are many psychologists and psychiatrists who would readily blame the environment ...which includes you and me.  As we reach a certain age we seemingly are esteemed with a rite of passage ...where we can no longer blame, but are the ones who are to be blamed.

Yes, the environment has much to do with it ...but it can be overstated too.  On the other hand, we should not just dismiss any consideration of what may have led to undesirable behavior by just saying we should just get on with it, the person is guilty.

The discussion was whether people are born good.  We would say no ...yet, would we say people are born bad?  

We can quote the scriptures. 

Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"


Romans 3:10 says, "There is no one righteous, not even one ..."


Matthew 19:17, "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments."

Mark 10:18 & Luke 18:19 say the same thing, "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone."

Was Jesus saying that only the Father is good?  No, Jesus was saying only One is good ...but He also said He and the Father are One.  And so is the Holy Spirit ...the Trinity of One.  Jesus was asking a question that would hopefully make the person think.

When we read of God's act of Creation ..."So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them." &... "God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day."

Soon we read, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman implied her loyalty to the man in stating to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden' ..."

We see that the woman repeated what she was told, having no event to go against what God had said ...up until the serpent entered the scene.  There was an introduction here of a character who was not a good influence.

Our main problem is that we often fall to bad influences.

I'm not saying we are good ...because without God, we can do the most evil things.  Even with accepting God into our lives, we have occasion to do some significant things we would not call good.  So, none of us are good ...only the Trinity, God, is good.  Yet, God created us with the ability to choose Him who is good, or to choose not to accept Him.

I believe we have that choice, because without it ...how could we be rightly judged.  And God is righteous.

The angels were created also ...and we don't know the process of convincing, other than we read of the ringleader and that a third followed that influence.

One could say that two thirds of the angels were good ...or that two thirds followed He who is good.  But, it would seem that a third decided to actively join the rebellion.

Some of us would think it convenient to say we do not choose ...but that is neither accurate nor convenient.  I never consider deception convenient, especially since I don't believe living for the moment is the best plan in the long run.

It seems fruitless to me to talk about morality and goodness ...as if that has to be agreed upon before we consider who our Creator is.

Today, morality tends to equate more with a dictionary definition of:  beliefs about what is right behavior and what is wrong behavior; or  refers to some codes of conduct put forward by a society.

Tolerance and accepting of diverse ways is what is looked at as 'good' ...and anyone who suggests differently is called a 'hater', or intolerant at best.

And there are religions that would allow certain behavior that I consider deplorable ...yet, they claim to uphold and worship their God.

Therefore, I would never want to have the discussion of good or morality as the foundation of what eventually the group would decide as a majority.  I think the Bible is the only record of who truly God is, what He has done, and what He says.

When someone says that the nations on earth all have laws ...to control bad behavior, I have to disagree. I see many laws that protect bad behavior.

Our own country, where we would often consider ourselves the most civilized ...promotes an absurdity of the right to kill babies. And it is getting to the point of discussing whether it should go beyond the realm of unborn ...to a furthering age of merely unwanted.


One of the esteemed universities in my own state: paid $1,000 to a pro-choice artist who delivered a presentation and presented her "4,000 Years of Choice" collection. One piece in the collection declares "abortion is a gift from God."

It is presented as "reproductive justice" and for the good ...but the good I stand with would never state that.

Other nations and certain religions dominant in those nations can't even talk about women's rights at all ...let's make a distinction here, mentioning true women's rights as equal human beings created by God, not inclusive of taking other lives also given to us by God's design.

Are people born good?  Well, people are born as babies ...and to suggest, as I've heard some say, that babies are narcissistic, is to me absurd.  Excessive love or admiration of oneself is not what I've assessed it to be. I see a desire and comfort that God has created for the baby towards its Mom.

One of the names describing God, is El Shaddai.  It is first mentioned in God's promise to multiply Abraham's offspring ...and is a relationship-type description that God often reveals to us through the Names.

El Shaddai is often described as Almighty ...El meaing might, strength, and power.  Shad means breast or pourer-forth.  Dai means enough or sufficient. El Shaddai is referred to as the All-sufficient God.

In Kay Arthur's book, entitled, To Know Him by Name, she says, "A baby crying ---restless.  Nothing can quiet the baby?  Yes, the breast can."

She then writes, "A babe pining ---starving.  The baby's life is ebbing away.  The baby cannot take man's proper food; and will die.  No, the breast can give fresh life, nourishment.  By her breast the Mom has almost infinite power over the child."

A power, an influence, a dependency ...created by God, that we often forget when we think we are old enough to be independent.

A healthy baby born into a healthy family is in sort of a Garden of Eden ...and it is the introduction of outside influences that often causes much confusion. 

God told man not to eat the fruit of a certain tree. God also planned a surprise for the man, but first brought all the animals and birds to man to give names to ...after God named the man, Adam.  Before God gave Adam his surprise, He let Adam see all the pairs ...and see his own need, for the one that would be paired with him.

God was with Adam ...and by eating the fruit was going against what God had said. Going against, or separating from God on any thing is called sin.  So, after that everyone is born into sin ...or sort of a gap that needs to be bridged.  We need to choose Him, and we do that by accepting Jesus.

We all have to choose, and we begin by learning from imperfect people, often with imperfect motives, and struggling in an imperfect world. 

For one, no child is going to be able to understand the concept of withholding. And it is humanly impossible for any of us to resist every one of those influences ...hence, we are all sinners.

A baby born into an unstable family is not likely going to begin on equal ground ...as the baby is going to get introduced early to bad things.  Yet, sometimes this perspective helps the child grow seeking better things ...but I would never favor this direction over starting out right.

Yet, right doesn't mean everything is right ...and our imperfect world does not get better by our own efforts to attempt to make it better.  We must turn to the One who is perfect ...who perfectly glorified who God is, previous to His death on the cross.

The Holy Spirit is very active ...yet, so is the enemy.  We all develop perspectives, participate in conclusions, and grow our own character according to which influence we allow to become dominant. 

If a person feels they've been slighted, they may have a tendency to gravitate towards selfish means ...and often may become mean. That tendency seems to be stronger than a person who has experienced an abundance of things ...who wants to share.  But, those who have much usually would prefer to share with those who have nothing, than to those who give nothing in the way of gratefulness.

The fact is, bad behavior thrives more on dominance than does good.  That is why so many countries are governed by bad policy, laws, and people. It doesn't mean the majority of the people are bad, they just mostly lean towards being less confrontational. 

And I don't think it's inaccurate to say that those who live in bad countries who know it, are better off than those who live in countries where bad is twisted and reformed to look good.

So, I do not look to laws to curb bad behavior, if God is not the standard of what good is.