Goodness and Conflict ...

Wednesday, Sept 17, 2014. Can you be good in conflict? What about Goodness and measures to keep people from doing particular things - exercising authority? If you are good, does it mean you cannot exercise authority? Or if you are in conflicts, does it mean you cannot be good?

Can you be good in conflict? …

I read about American soldiers in 1944 in Germany yesterday. That was half a year before the end of World War II. The interesting phenomenon is that those areas, where the Americans had taken over already, immediately started to reinstall normal social life! The Americans were in war, but they treated the Germans in a very civilized and “good” way. Banks reopened. Shops went back to operations. It seemed to me to be an example of how goodness can show itself in conflict (without saying much about America's politics in general!).

When are you a good teacher? Does it mean everyone gets only As or Bs, and no one can fail? That would not be good. If you think something is not adequate, then you need to tell it clearly. A good teacher will have clear measures and will insist on good quality. Do not fool yourself! There are these secret contracts between teachers and students today, where everyone gives good grades to the other side. But it does not help us, it is just creating an illusion of quality where quality is not necessarily there. Without effort, without a lot of work and without the investment of time quality cannot be achieved.

Goodness can show itself in reliability and in clear rules. If you have clear standards, then people can meet them. It needs to be possible to meet the standard, of course. Or the setup or goals need to be changed. Everyone needs to have a chance to find his or her place - but that does not mean that the place we are heading for is the one we should get or take. Talk to the Lord which place is good for you - he knows best. Definitely!

God's Goodness and Hell? …

The bible strongly emphasizes that God is Good. He is good in a very deep and far reaching sense. We hear about the salvation he provides, about his dedication, about his love, which keeps full truth about what humans are and do. But what about hell? What about a life without God? Hell is a word for a life which is eternally separated from God.

Can Goodness accept a seperation from life? Can the goodness of God accept hell? We first need to clearly see: hell is a choice. You choose hell. You want to go that way. You do not need to, you are invited into the kingdom of heaven. With and in Jesus the door is open for you. But you might choose the way out. You can choose that the way of heaven is not your way, and choose the path which leads away from God. Hell is a fate, yes, since the choice is done, with its consequences. But it is a choice first!

Is it good to give the choice? Is it good to take humans that serious? Is it good to allow them to go away from God, eternally? Jesus talks about hell a lot in the New Testament. He strongly warns us, that the path leads to destruction, to tears and to suffering. But he still leaves it open to us to go it. Please think yourself about this - about freedom of choice, about the goodness of God, and how you can come to your own understanding of these deep things. Ask the Lord, to teach you, to explain it to you! He will show you his goodness and his love, and he will show you how humans do their choices … (Roland Potthast) ... more texts