I was thinking today, as a thinker normally does, and I stopped on a thought about people and how we classify each other and ourselves as either good or bad people.
Growing up in a Christian home, I was taught that you must be a good person and follow the Lord’s will in order to go to heaven. In Society, I was taught, you have to be a good person to be successful and to avoid having your freedom taken from you. In my head, I learned that there are bad things you can do, and good things you can do, but there are these vast shades of gray which are not good enough to be good, and not bad enough to be bad…
This confuses me.
Who determines that a person is bad.
Let’s make a list.
BAD people 
Murder, Cheat, Hate, Steal, Lie, Trick, Rape, Cause Abuse (physical and emotional), Selfish, Fight (physical)
GOOD people 
Help Others, Love, Give Life, Save others, Generous, Selfless, Honest, Trustworthy, Keep Promises, Make Peace
So now we have a pretty comprehensive list. So then, what happens when good people do bad things here and there? Or, what about when bad people do good things?
The movie “Crash” comes to mind here.
Our lives are intertwined by the unknown, and ever action we take has an effect. My guy and I were watching that movie “Wanted” last night and Angelina Jolie’s character (haha I know….) said a line which I think is very true.
“We don’t know how far the ripples of our decisions go…”
Um, yes. I agree completely. Everything we do touches someone somewhere, even if in the most minor way. So My point is, who has the infinite knowledge and understanding that a person is good or bad. You know what is right and wrong, and instead of pointing the finger and comparing yourselves to others, either good or bad, you should be comparing yourself to your knowledge of what is right, and what is not.
Although I do believe there is a greater being, a God, someone who sees us in a large scale picture, I don’t believe you are judged by how others view you, only as how you CHOSE to live your life, because the truth is only the full truth, without shades of gray to YOU and your God.
With Love and Answers,
Kymlee
Not the greatest english speaker, but I loved reading this.
well thank you
i’m sure this will be a controversial reply, but oh well, it is what it is …
this is what we were ACTUALLY trying to raise you to understand:
one can come across as the most decent human being on this planet, doing all kinds of wonderful things for others, but in truth, God sees that person the same as the worst person on this planet … they both were born into sin and unless they accept God as their Savior, neither one will go to heaven….it doesn’t matter to God how ‘good’ you are. Being a good or bad person has absolutely nothing to do with it. Jesus said “your good deeds are as filthy rags”, meaning, they don’t amount to anything. Jesus died on a cross between two criminals. as one criminal was dying, he came to his senses and asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His ‘kingdom’ (ie: asking for forgiveness). the second criminal let his own pride get in the way and didn’t acknowledge who Jesus was and instead mocked Him. Jesus said to the first criminal “today, you shall surely be with me in paradise”. the second criminal died without Jesus, eternally separated from Him. this is the best example ever about it not mattering whether we are good or bad but that we ultimately come to our senses and acknowledge that we need Jesus as our Savior and ask Him to forgive our sins that we ALL commit on a daily basis. There’s nothing we can do, in and of ourselves, to ‘get to heaven’.
i enjoy reading your blogs. felt it necessary to comment on this one though.
:waving: Hi Mom!!!
I know that this is the message you were getting across to us in childhood. I actually wanted to focus more on the aspect of people judging other people in this particular post. I guess we’re all guilty of it (raises hand humbly) but I think that people should focus more on their own lives versus picking out what’s wrong with everyone else’s, because we as people don’t have the authority to judge others, and like I said, it is between you and your God for the responsibility of your own lives. Tying Christianity into this fact and according to the Bible, people cannot just be “good” people, but must recognize Jesus as their Lord and Savior. However I was actually leaning more to the “Do not judge, lest ye be judged” words, like you always told us growing up… We are solely responsible for the way we choose to lead our lives.
Thanks for the input Mom, I really hope to see more comments from you on here. I actually didn’t know you started reading it yet, so thanks!
Love you,
me ♥
Great post, this will really help me.
anytime. I’m glad I could give you inspiring words
Like your list of good and bad people, when it comes to those unfortunate souls who are good or bad, but stuck in the middle of the two a few names came to mind whiched shocked me because i hae neve thought of that before. I will have to check crash out to get a better idea of whhat yourspeaking. VERY interesting post you have here Kymlee, shades of gray are all around us of all life people, places and things its always nice to have a middle ground that way there are more choices then just up or down, left or right, black or white, hot or cold.
thank you very much, it’s an interesting topic, but what’s even more interesting to me is how its happening in real life. Some people are so quick to judge others, and they view the world in black and white, unaware that there are spaces between where most of us reside.
I’m def an observer a lot of the time, and I find it fascinating how life works, and what you can see if your eyes are open
Good people do bad things, sometimes really bad, but they are still a good person. I think the difference between a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ person is in the resolution, how they deal with their behavior after it occurs. People have bad days, weeks – years, that’s a lot of gray area, but that is life.
As for judging, I find it is always better to judge the action not the person. What their intent was will shed some light on whether they might be a good person or bad. But, I really try not to judge, I do because I’m human, but that’s the goal.
good points New reader Jim! Thank you for your insight, I agree about not judging people, but the action itself.
The movie Crash is excellent. I think things like lying, trickery and stealing (when done for the right reasons) do not make a person bad. If a parent lies to their child to make the child feel better, is that a crime? Or when two kids, or adults even, play tricks on each other for fun, is that wrong? And if you have to steal food in order to survive, is that something punishable by law? In Germany (I think) stealing food is not a crime, because during the holocaust so many people had to steal food to survive.
I think it all depends on the situation.
and this is my point… Those are those crazy gray areas, which is why I’ve come to the conclusion that only you can truly judge and asses what kind of person you are. I made the lists vague on purpose because people assume that if someone has more in one category than the next, they are as defined by that category. So in all honesty, no one can really tell you that you are good or bad, because only you know the absolute truth about yourself. You and your God if you do so believe in one. Thanks for the comment Willow!
Very well written Kymlee. Two thumbs up!
Good people should remain good and encourage those bad people to be on the good side…. Cheers!
Thank you!
At first people were born just like a sheet of white paper. Both are influenced by a bad person a lot of factors. Every human being must have something good to change from bad, or vice versa. There are no perfect human beings in this world.
very true statement…. no such thing as perfection. thank you
I think empathy is what really defines a good person. If you can’t put yourself in another person’s shoes, you are pretty much doomed as a kind-hearted human being. You will not be generous, you will not be compassionate, etc etc. I believe it all stems from that one trait.
I actually believe this very much. I am definitely empathic almost to a fault sometimes. Some one out there always has it worse, has it better, what have you and being able to relate to another person’s situation is key in the understanding of human nature….
I really love your articles, im a big fan of you..
::blush:: Thank you!
We complicate things because we’re human. That grey matter perched above our shoulders can do remarkable things and also get us in a lot of trouble too.
So one thing I would put in the “Good” category is forgiveness, because we all dip into the “Bad” during our short time here.
Shine on lovely lady.
amen and thanks. You always have great input Antonio…
I like it when you take on “big” issues. You have a nice way of cutting it down to essentials. (You know me, gotta wrestle.)
Thank you… I think I tend to simplify things because in my mind, I do grasp the essentials of an idea, and usually I find that makes the most sense for me personally. Some people agree with me, others tend to need more meat to it, either way is fine. What I don’t understand is how simple things tend to get out of control because people place a complication that never needed to be there in the first place….
Thank you for the comment Mikey!
I’m sorry if my previous comment seemed harsh. It’s just that the way our society has twisted these meanings around really irks me. To me, the “self” is the “window” through which my soul views the world. By definition, the purity of my connection to the world – and to other people – is wholly dependent upon how clean I keep my “window.” Failing to keep up with what’s actually good for my “self” is like intentionally going through life with blinders on. In such a state, I’m like a loose cannon to the things I should care the most about.
no i didn’t think it was harsh at all my friend. I agree on a level. Yes, definitions that we have nowadays can be somewhat incorrect, and it is quite irritating.
IMHO, the problem lies in our confused definition of the word “self,” and in how we label people as “selfish” or “selfless” based on whose benefit a person’s actions are aimed at achieving. I believe that a rational person acts for the benefit of that and those that are important to him or her, such as self, family, friends, community, and country. To label such a person, who is acting is his or her own interests as “selfish” is to say that the things and people that he or she acts to benefit are evil. To say that someone must NOT act in his or her own best interest is to declare that the only way to be “good” is to be suicidal!
Just a thought.
that’s actually an interesting view. I do think that there are occasions where selfishness can be bad, and good. I was putting these in a list to show that without those gray areas, selfishness and selflessness are only categorized by either bad or good.
I always appreciate it
We do live in a world of gray areas, because there are times when a supposed “bad thing” is called for, or vice-versa, and that’s why I think that we are solely responsible for determining what kind of person we will be in life and no one else can correctly make that assumption. Thanks for the input