3 John Verse 11

Verse :

11Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

Notes:

What is good? What is evil ?

Good:
a : something that is good b (1) : something conforming to the moral order of the universe (2) : praiseworthy character : goodness c : a good element or portion
2a : advancement of prosperity or well-being b : something useful or beneficial
(From : http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/good )

Evil :
1. The quality of being morally bad or wrong; wickedness.
2. That which causes harm, misfortune, or destruction: a leader's power to do both good and evil.
3. An evil force, power, or personification.4. Something that is a cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction:
(from : http://www.thefreedictionary.com/evil)

- Paul has written “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”1 Corinthians 9:22

Does that mean imitating evil ? No . Depending on strength of people the level is different. To some, hey they can watch almost anything and not be phased, embalming, surgery, horror shows, etc, yet another jumps with a loud noise or can watch just a tooth being taken out ....anything more is more than they can handle. Or Weight lifting, some can bench 250lbs many times, yet they run slow, others run like a cheetah but can't lift more than 150 lbs, It is all about what one cna handle. So Paul could be flexible cause he knew that certain things (culturally, linguistically) was a matter of opinion, but when it came to other things, Jesus crucified, partaking in sinful acts and such things, God commanded things, he had the boundaries.

Also, there are good things in all places, respect or honor or such in all cultures. Are there bad things? Of course ! We are all mortals/sinners. USA, free choice, more equality, try to help others/protect them. Does USA have bad parts ? OH YES ! So what should we do? It says here to imitate the good, so take stuff from both yet only imitate the good stuff. From imitate I still see both sides, good and bad. I just do what is good and learn from the bad.

Doing good is from God. And doing bad is not from God. Basic enough to understand right ?
Hm, looking at this, doing bad and not seeing God in the easiest way for me to understand is:

1. To not see God aka Him holding door to way out of bad.(1 Cor. 10:13)
2. How can we see God, when what we choose is ourselves and/or sin? (James 1:14-15)

Not that we don't know God aka His existance , loves us, saved us , yet that in our sin- God can't be seen. Just like God had to sacrifice the Son, had to turn His back on Him because He couldn't be near the sins Christ was carrying.

What decides something as good or evil ? It's not what, it's Who .....God.

Keep the faith, Study the Scriptures, "Test everything. Hold on to the good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
Peace, Love, Happiness, Joy, Blessings.....til next time , and leave me your thoughts, scriptures, etc .