Does "good" have an enemy?

Question

If so, what effect can it have on people's lives?

Answer 1

Actually, it's not what you might think:

Better is the enemy of good.
Voltaire

Answer 2

Ryan P. Good was a kindly soul. But is next door neighbor, by the name of Pern Icious, was selfish and self absorbed man. No matter how many times Mr. Good tried to resolve their conflicts with polite requests or logical rebuttals, Mr. Icious would push things until litigation was inevitable. Mr. Icious would even threaten physical violence on occassion. He also used to put bags of flaming dog doo on Mr. Good's front door. Then he'd ring the door bell and run. Yes, Mr. Good liked to fool himself into thinking he didn't have an enemy in the world, but there are always people like Mr. Icious who view everyone as potential enemies. Even though he hated to admit it, Mr. Icious was Mr. Good's enemy.

Answer 3

Depending on the conext, answers will vary. If you think of good work for instance, laziness will be the enemy. If you think of a good person then evil spirit(s) will b an enemy. However all answers lead to the Devil being an enemy to Good. The consequence is suffering to humankind and eventual burning in Hell for those who believe in conventional spiritual matters.

Answer 4

There are people who want what is good for them and will get it through means that are not good. Money is a good thing, if you are broke, but we generally recognize that taking other people's money by force or deception is wrong. Similarly, food is good; it is an enjoyable thing. But if you eat more than is good for you, you get a stomach ache, and if you keep on doing it, you become obese, and this increases your risk factors for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. So in these examples the enemy is the desire to have more than is necessary or something that one does not have a right to have; the desire itself.

(Many people, especially those who are addicted to something, cannot distinguish between their desires and themselves.)

On a more precise level, the noted psychologist Dr. M.Scott Peck was trying to define 'evil' in psychological terms and coined the diagnostic label "malignant narcissism". (You can find out more about it in his books, People of the Lie and The Road Less Travelled.)

Dr. Peck discovered that there are some people who seem to have so completely suppressed the awareness of their own selfishness that they are not aware at all of being selfish, and offer the most absurd reasons for their actions, thinking that they are perfectly acceptible and justified.

One case history he gave concerned a young boy whose older brother had committed suicide by shooting himself with a .22 rifle. The parents gave the rifle to their younger son-- the very same rifle...! They did not consciously consider that this might send a rather clear message that they did not care whether the younger son imitated his beloved and admired and missed brother (you can see how it might even encourage such a thing!)

They justified their act by saying there was nothing wrong with the rifle and there was no point in getting rid of it and wasting the money. Fortunately for the boy, the parents listened to Dr. Peck and allowed their son to go live with a grandparent.

By examining more such people, Dr. Peck built up the picture of a malignantly narcissistic person, one in whom selfishness so unconsciously dominates them that they cannot face 'good' and must destroy 'good' when they are confronted by it, to avoid having to face the possibility that they might have been mistaken.

Throughout history we have seen lynch mobs, etc., destroy those who try to confront them and tell them to stop their evil behavior. It does not seem like a stretch of the imagination to me to suppose that if there are such things as non-corporeal intelligences, some of them may be malignantly narcissistic, possibly even jealous or resentful of corporeal beings such as ourselves, as well.

I would recommend Dr. Peck's books if you are interested in learning more.

Answer 5

Evil obviously would be the adversary of good. Evil has a terrible effect on all people's lives. It's best to focus on the good. Thoughts manifest.

Answer 6

Evil obviously would be the adversary of good. Evil has a terrible effect on all people's lives. It's best to focus on the good. Thoughts manifest.

Answer 7

People can have enemies. Plants and animals can have enemies. Politicians and lawyers can have enemies. Even corporations and religions can have enemies. But abstract ideas like "good" cannot have enemies. Except, that is, for those who hate all abstractions.

Answer 8

Goods enemy is self rightousness. Noone sets out to do well to become self rightous but because doing good feels good it can lead to the big head.

Answer 9

God is Love and God is good
(1Jo 4:8 ) He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

(Mar 10:18) And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God.

The opposite of Good is evil. Satan is the originator of evil.

(Job 1:7 ) And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

(Mat 12:26) And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
(Luk 10:18) And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
(Luk 22:3) Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
(2Cr 11:14) And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
(2Cr 2:11) Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
(2Th 2:9) [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
(Rev 20:2) And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

Answer 10

mmm, Fear . & Inactivity due to fear, or laziness, ..

Such passivity might include allowing others to overwash your inner psyche/values-stuff, when your intuition simultaneously tells you it is 'wrong'/'evil'/incorrect (to yourSelf). However, this has a close, but beneficial sister - the one that says its worth looking, learning, listening further - to determine if the said 'overwashing' is trully evil, because often first impressions and presentations are not so 'true'.