Genesis 1:1-31
God Saw His Creation and Saw that it was Good
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
Job 1:1-22
Prologue
1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Luke 6:31
Treat Others as You Want to Be Treated
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Is life valuable and if it is where does that thinking or idea come from?...For one to believe in goodness, he has to place a high value on every human life...The is a complete difference, when we compare good and evil in life and on our lives...Goodness values life as very important...It values life as good...For us to study goodness seriously we must see that goodness believes that a man's life is utmost important...Goodness wants life to be healthy, happy, and live life to the full and abundance...While evil gives no value to life...Evil does not concern itself with one's good health, one's happiness, and a full life...
And if one believes there is evil in this world, then we must have something to compare and contrast that to (otherwise there is nothing but evil) -so there must be goodness also in our world...And I actually think the large majority of people in the world think there is evil and an evil one out there in the world...So by believing this, we also know somewhere out there, there is a Goodness out there, a Good One, who makes us do this comparison and contrasting in our minds, and in our thinking and living, and allows us to do good...
If you assume there is goodness and evil in the world, then one somehow has to differentiate between the two very different ideas...If we believe in good and evil, each individual man must differentiate between the two ideas, and then the vast majority must agree on things like child abuse is universally evil, rape is universally bad and evil, and other things. like this holocaust was evil ..Does each man and woman as they mature and grow up and then just do what is good?...Do they do what is good because their parents told then to do good?...Or is there this Good One, who has done good and seen good from the very beginning?...Or is there this something else causing man to think we ought to have goodness and peace in this world, instead of evil and wars?...And if man believes that there should be this goodness out there, where and when did it first start and originate?...And if I truly believe it comes from man and just from man alone, why can't I be different or my my neighbor and be different from others and do evil?...Who is telling me my neighbor and I have to do this good?...What or who has given mankind this idea that all men should be good?...What Good Man started this and said, everything should treat everyone justly and with mercy?...What Man said to treat others as you want to be treated -as a way to say one should value life and be and do good?...Goodness had to start somewhere and at sometime...It first had to start by valuing each individual person, each and every man, woman, and child....
Many think goodness started when God started...In the beginning He saw what He had created and saw that it was good...But not only does the Good One allow us to do good, He gives us the free will and free choice to do evil...Some do choose to do evil and have evil ways...So, we see evil in this world...
Many atheists will argue that evil is in nature and the natural laws that exist, but I would say that nature is neutral on good and evil as we look at nature...If death comes only from nature, why are we saddened and grieve when friends, and family members die...What has made us sad?...We have valued and loved those people, and that is why we suffer from them leaving...Goodness gives value to each and every person...If it were completely nature driven, why would we grieve over a death...And the atheist might also say that hurricanes and tornadoes are evil, but they are not evil until they take life, one could argue...Certainly a hurricane or tornado in itself that does no damage whatsoever is not evil...But some look at these natural disasters as evil...Also, when all is peaceful and we look at the finely tuned Universe with its Natural Laws of nature and all its beauty, we could say that nature leans toward the side of goodness...The Natural Laws support our water and food systems, for instance...Without nature we would not eat or drink...So, I might say nature is good, and at least neutral in its ways...
And I think both believers and non-believers both believe in the value of life, but the non-believer believes that goodness and morality is random and was created out of the goodness of man's heart and it has evolved all over the world over the past many centuries...Believers take the position that God is good, and only God is good...God made us in His Image and we have these thoughts of goodness weaved in our minds from Him, and in our hearts, and in our souls...And the indwelt Holy Spirit of the LORD, will always be on the side of goodness as He guides us through life...
In Job we can see goodness and evil vividly...God allows disasters in life...We see hurricanes and tornado disasters...And a disaster entered Job's life...God allowed the evil one to enter Job's life...And evil quickly kills Job's sons, his daughters, his servants, and his sheep...In the wink of an eye, Job has lost his entire family...How sad, and how evil...Evil is like that, and it gives life little value...The evil one placed very little value, if any on Job's family and even Job...Had God allowed him, the evil one would have destroyed Job...As we read what the evil one does to Job's family, we see that people and life mean nothing to him...We are only pawns to him...After talking to God, the evil one immediately went out and killed Job's family, who were innocent and guilty of nothing that we know of...Evil gives the person and their life no value...And as one looks around and reads the news and the deaths of innocent people who were murdered by other people, we still see evil in the world today...
So to take goodness seriously we must value life and each person...Evil does not care about life, suffering, sickness or death...Value goodness and value life and value each other...