Good Guys and Bad Guys

The LORD is compassionate and gracious…he does not treat us as our sins deserve (Psalm 103:8, 10).

Years ago, it seemed so easy to tell the Good Guys from the Bad Guys. During World War II, the Bad Guys were the Germans, the Italians and the Japanese; we Americans were the Good Guys. In the ‘50s and ‘60s the Bad Guys were Communists—Russia, China, North Korea, Cuba, and North Vietnam; we Capitalists were the Good Guys.

But in the 1970’s, something happened; people began to question the labels of Good Guy and Bad Guy. Increasingly, Americans are realizing that every country is filled with both warmongers and those who want to raise their families in peace; in every land, greedy criminals live side by side with people who are loving and generous.

In old TV westerns and spy dramas, you knew who to root for and who could be shot without feelings of remorse. But the black and white world of 50 years ago has been replaced with a riot of confusing color, reflecting our uncertainty as to who is friend and who is foe. Sometimes we wish that we still lived in a black and white world.

Actually, the world is black and white. God tells us that everyone is evil—evil by nature. We are born selfish, and it is our instinct to do whatever it takes to get our own way—even if it involves threats, lies or violence. We are all Bad Guys, and God has every right to put us in the grave without a second thought.

But God does not want to treat us as we deserve. God is the Good Guy; He shows mercy to those who do not deserve it. He sent His Son to die in our place so that we could be forgiven. In Jesus, every Bad Guy has the opportunity to change sides and become one of the Good Guys.

This completely changes how we look at other people. By nature, everyone is a Bad Guy; everyone is our enemy. But if Jesus can recruit you to the ranks of the Good Guys, you have to see that potential in everyone else as well. There is no one we can kill without remorse, because each and every foe is someone who could become a Good Guy if he or she accepts Jesus’ gracious offer. Rather than seek their death, we should be offering them life in Jesus’ name.