How do I know for sure that things are Not getting better overall?
Because, although God can turn evil events to enable Good to ensue; God cannot mix evils to make Good.
For Good to ensue, there must be Good motivations in the mix.
And Good motivations are spiritual primarily - not material, not this-wordily, not aiming at expediency, not trying to make some people happier, healthier, suffer less... Such are temporary palliatives at most; even when (as very seldom) the stated material intentions are sincere, potentially effective, and actually happen.
From where we are here-and-now in Western Civilization; we do not even desire that which is Good.
Our world view is materialistic and nihilistic; we reject God, the spirit, transcendental values, and do not even want what Jesus Christ offers.
Therefore, from where we are here-and-now in Western Civilization; spiritual rebirth, awakening, repentance (i.e. a turning-around of understanding, belief, motivations) is absolutely necessary before any subsequent Good can ensue.
Good must be added to the mix, so that God can work with it - can sustain and amplify it.
This is non-optional: Repentance and embrace of Jesus Christ's gift and offer Must Come First.
Must means must; so that when repentance and conversion has not happened (as now), we will continue to be motivated by our endemic and pervasive civilizational evil: by our false understanding of reality, and by our wrong intentions about our life and death.
Good comes only from good; because God needs good to work-from - and work-with.
And in this world of purpose-less, meaning-less, hedonic materialism: real Good means spiritual-Good.
If we have not got spiritual Good as our basis and direction - then whatever socio-political-economic reforms/ changes may be imposed with whatever radicalism at whatever level of organization; we shall merely be exchanging one kind of evil for another.
2 comments:
This is well said.
I put it this way: for a this-worldly good deed to be truly and actually good it must be an other-worldly good.
This is why the worldly focus on charity and other "good" works are not inherently good. Jesus said that even men who successfully cast out demons and do mighty works are lawless and rejected.
@Derek. Indeed.
But this misleads some people, who infer that "therefore" this mortal life has no importance - except in terms of what it leads to afterwards, I think this is indeed one of the most difficult of theological questions, because it requires two answers - and not many people will hang around long enough to hear the second answer!
Either they assume that there is no afterlife of relevance and only our experience in this world matters; or they assume a more "Eastern" (or "Gnostic"!) view that only the afterlife matters, and this mortal life is nothing more than a trial that we can fail, but not succeed in.
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