Good And Evil 

   "My God, enlighten me; give me to understand that my only evil is to offend You, and my only good to love You. Enable me to spend the remainder of my days in serving You." (St. Alphonsus De Liguori) 

   What is evil and from where does it come?  Some think they can define evil for themselves; others look to earthly authorities and society.  They are only fooling themselves, for Jesus said, “They are blind men leading blind men; and if one blind man leads another, both will fall into a pit” (Matt 15: 14).  Evil always has and always will come from offending God.

   When I turn from God and close the door to the Holy Spirit I open the door to Satan and the evil he would have me do.  Though I may not consciously seek to serve the devil, that is who I will serve if I am not serving God.  It began in the Garden of Eden, it continues today, and will continue until the Lord comes again in power.

   The same is true of the good that I may be able to do in this world.  Of my own accord I can do no good since all good comes from God.  Any good that I might do comes from my desire to love Him and follow His will rather than my own.  All that is good is from God and from Him alone.

   When I understand that all evil comes from offending God by my sins and that all good comes only from loving Him I must realign my thoughts, my ideas, and, indeed, my whole life.  If I am to inherit eternal life, I must do all in my power to never offend Him, and to seek the good that comes from loving Him.