Consequences of Good and Evil

In a recent blog post I wrote my thoughts on the concepts of good and evil, and explained why I think it is irrefutable that these things exist, and most importantly, are not merely natural or earthly ideas, but are indeed supernatural. Having laid the foundation for a topic more relevant to my daily life and existence as a human being, I would like to discuss the consequences of good and evil.

After all, if good and evil have no consequences at all, then they are of little interest. If a human does nothing but good, and their results are the same as another human who does evil, then effectively good and evil have no meaning. Of course we know that this is not the case. In our natural world we know that every action has a consequence. We can see that when we push a rock, it moves, and when we chop a tree, it falls. Actions cause reactions.

In this same vein of thought, we know that human actions have consequences as well. For example, if I do not say anything to my wife on our anniversary, the consequence is that my wife will be unhappy. And in that example the consequence of my actions would affect me as I would be forced to buy extravagant gifts in an attempt to bribe my way back into her good favor.

So knowing that our actions have natural consequences, do they have supernatural consequences as well? I believe that I have something ingrained in me by my very nature as a human being which knows that there are indeed supernatural consequences for my actions. I believe that this is an important part of what we often call our “conscience”. This part of me knows that there is such a concept as justice, and that if this justice were able to be evaded, that it would not be an ultimate or perfect justice.

For example, it is conceivable that I could tell a lie that no one else could detect. This lie could end up having absolutely no effect in the natural world, either on others or myself. If that were to happen, would I have successfully committed an action with evil intentions, and not received any form of justice? I believe that the answer must be no, and that the proof lies in my conscience, some part of me given a supernatural design which knows the meaning of good and evil.

Therefore, my actions in the natural world are done with intentions, which are themselves a supernatural concept. These intentions define whether my actions are good or evil, but these intentions cannot be observed naturally, as we have only supporting evidence and logic to suggest a person’s intentions. Therefore there must be a supernatural observation of these intentions, and supernatural consequences following the result of this observation. Otherwise, justice does not exist, as justice means that every human being is observed and obtains their results equally, with no room for bribery or evasion.

As is our nature as humans, we often attempt to avoid the consequences of our actions. A common tactic is to claim that our intentions were not bad. I could try to explain to my wife that I simply forgot our anniversary, and that I wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings. In that way I can hope to classify my actions as some type of benign negligence, and not something more malicious. This tactic is very prevalent because we presume that no one can know our intentions except for us.

Perhaps the most important topic regarding the consequences of good and evil is the relation between the two. Specifically, how does good weigh against evil, or do the two concepts not balance each other in some way? Most relevantly to humans, can a human being commit an evil act, and negate the consequences with some type of good act?

This is a hot topic for human beings. We see that we do evil, and we don’t like it. It is in our nature to want to fix this problem on our own. The idea of being observed and judged supernaturally is uncomfortable and even frightening. From this, humans have written many theories concerning how a good action can negate an evil one. Fasting, self-flagellation, monetary payments and indulgences, specific prayers, and other similar things are all being used by various cultures and religious beliefs in an attempt to undo what we have done, or at least undo the consequences.

The scary truth is that we cannot undo the consequences of evil, because the consequences of good are not a bonus or some kind of extra credit. Our actions are not a mathematical equation which can be balanced, but rather markings recorded in these two simple categories. The easiest way to understand this is by examining our own laws, which we have created based off of our consciences.

We do not murder because we know that it is wrong. There is a punishment for murder, but there is no specific reward for not committing murder. Likewise, there is no specific reward for doing extra nice things such as helping an elderly person with their groceries. Following the law is what is expected of us. Breaking the law has consequences. If we break the speed limit, we receive a ticket. We do not receive cash in hand for following the posted speed limit. Similarly, we cannot pay for our evil deeds with our good deeds, as committing an evil deed means breaking a supernatural law.

This leaves us in a frightening state. No person can rightly claim to have never committed evil. No one has always had good intentions, and therefore we all ought to be worried about the consequences of our actions. Most frighteningly, there is nothing that we can do, through bribery, evasion, or self-denial that can negate these consequences. This ought to open our eyes to our sad state of affairs, and lead us to seek more information, and hopefully find a solution to this problem.