Why good is so hard to come by?

Have you ever thought about how something good is ruined so easily?

I was pondering this as I was making some pancakes. I was flipping these pancakes that looked so good and great. I was starving. I had to wake up about 7 that morning and I was up late with my best friend talking about our europe trip.

I noticed a hair baked into one of the sides of the pancake. It was not mine. I dont know where it came from. It was gross for sure! I picked it out of the cooked brown batter. Then i thought, how nasty but it is about 99% of the actual pancake. It was sterilized by the heat of the skillet so it was not a health risk. Yet, I wanted to throw it out. Why is that?

I think there are a few good reasons.

One is that good is usually a standard that is unmeetable by human standards. Good is relative in the sense of absolute significance but absolute in the essence of existence. What I mean by this is that Good is not relative when it exists. There is good and bad, but it can be relative about how much good there actually is. It is comparable. We see more goodness in other activities. For example, we all agree that helping the poor is good; however, when we compare it to saving a airplane full of people or some grand event, we usually consider that better (now I am speaking in strictly positive sense, not normative). So we categorize the amount of good in each state.

What does this mean? Good is a constant moving target. Usually when something is actually good, we find it hard to accept that it really is as good as what we are experiencing. We usually deny or poke holes in the absolute goodness. We down grade it and try to find meaning in the "bads". Because, frankly, we are much more obsessed with bad than we are with good. Good is something we often dont study or care much about it. We think it is ordinary and forgettable, even with the paradox that good is often lacking in the world. Take a few examples: the news probigates on drama and usually bad news. We tend to remember the times people hurt us and forget the times people were really good to us. It can take 6 months to gain a good friendship, but you can loose it in 6 seconds. Look at movies, the good kid on the block is usually portrayed as boring and lame. Media thinks that he is missing out on life. Another example, those that God has blessed with salvation early in life usually think their salvation "experience" is boring or not interesting (FYI a interesting salvation story is a perspective argument and "interesting" stories does not lead people to salvation).

It so ironic how most of us think or see the world is cluttered with evil. Good is really hard to come by, yet we think "good" as boring. How often do we forget God? How often do we lose something that was really good but got bored with it? Human beings are sinfully fascinated with evil. I think this relates to our flesh and internal desires. We have a pride issue about good. So, it is a constant paradox: good is often hard to do and hard to see in the world, yet we often are disinterested with good. "Good" is hard to do and hard to be, but our culture values "evil" for its excitement (even if it is easier to do than obey God).

Been a while

I have written elsewhere on my laptop. I have a co-share with my facebook. Most of my friends look at my facebook but I suppose I need to just transpose all of my posts and ideas.

The main brunt of my studies have been psychology lately. I have been looking into the two different processes of the brain, automatic and reflective. There have been some interesting writing from Haidt and his Happiness Hypothesis. One point he stressed over and over is the ability to control our automatic nature that causes us to do things against our long-term interest (He takes the more Socratic approach of Akrsia which means lack of command of oneself). He draws the distinction that this most likely is the sinful and natural side of humans, Haidt quotes Paul from the Bible. He suggests that people meditate on something else to change the direction of the automatic process. It is weird how secular scientists come to the same conclusion scripture teaches.

Joshua 1:6-8 (English Standard Version)

⁶ Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success^] wherever you go. ⁸This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

The way to oppose our flesh is to think about Christ and the Word. Do not focus on what our flesh is saying. This is exactly what Haidt says to do.

All knowledge is the reflection of Christ.