Article April 22, 1972 Issue

Good Is Real: Evil Is Unreal

GLADYS C. GIRARD

Startling! Yes. But listen to the Scripture on this point—and near the beginning, too: "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it."^{Gen. 2:17;} Now just how can one experience freedom from evil in this present world? Humanly, everyone is a free moral agent to accept or reject the good or evil knocking at his mental door.

There is a Biblical character who made a name for himself and expressed a high degree of usefulness at a time of great need— famine in the land of Egypt. When this Joseph was a boy, his brothers were tremendously jealous of him. They conspired against him and dumped him into a deep pit. He was sold to some passing traders. Feeling sure they had disposed of him, the brothers went on their merry way.

It is an interesting story, beginning with Chapter 37 in Genesis. In the end, when Joseph had risen to high place in Egypt and his brothers found out that he was still alive, they were panic-stricken. His response to them shows us in these times how to view evil. He told them out of a true heart, "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. ... It was not you that sent me hither, but God."^{45:5, 8;} Apparently Joseph did not make a frustrating reality of the evil perpetrated against him. Rather, he used the entire experience for good, for his growth and development and service to his fellowmen. So can everyone in every experience, however hazardous it may seem at the moment.

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Good Is Real: Evil Is Unreal

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