One of the conundrums I regularly face as I view what is going on in the world is working out who are the good and the bad guys. A long time ago I concluded that a person is not so much good, bad or mad but rather a combination of all three in varying proportions. While like many others, I say I try not to be judgmental, I find judging is nigh inevitable since deciding where a person lies on the good and bad/mad spectrum will influence how I view their words and deeds and view events in the world. Besides our prejudices and worldviews etc. and despite our best efforts, we know not enough to come to a fully rounded and informed opinion as to what is going on in the world and how (assuming we can) to deal etc. with individuals etc.

To say none of this matters is to deny the reality. I try not to get irked when people who I think ought to know better deem good guys to be bad and bad guys to be good and try, not always successfully, to avoid falling out. It is also important in making right decisions on what is going on around us. Today I came across an interesting article by a group called Q-Anon. I am not here to endorse or otherwise Q although some of what they say makes sense. Their take on what is going on, albeit from a USA “patriot” perspective, often resonates with my own understanding. In their article, titled “Players in the Game”, they considered around 100 well known figures (most of who I am aware of and have at least a provisional view) and put each one into one of five categories: Evil, Patriot, Traitor / Pawn, Flipped / Freed and Neutral / Unknown. While Q’s view sometimes differed from my own, in many cases it aligned.

While the good book reminds us when we are not to judge and the good Lord will do His judging in His own time, our doing judging now is almost unavoidable, especially if we are to lend our support to the good guys as opposed to the bad. While it is true, the good book also reminds us we know the good guys by their fruits the challenge often is trying to identify and evaluate the fruit. We should recognise too that good people may have different takes on who are the good and bad other people and sometimes wisdom and winsomeness is needed rather than lashing out. It also occurs to me that our agonizing over who are the good and bad guys can be a distraction from our doing good in the world, including telling people about the Good News of Jesus.  We are also told not to fret ourselves over evil doers etc. and to put our trust in the Lord. When it comes to judging, there will be a verdict; it will be 100% correct and for all to see. They and we have to face the Judge of all men. This brings me to my final thought and one which provides comfort, because when the King (the Lord Jesus Christ) comes to reign, all will know who the good guys and the bad guys are:

“See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear. No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected”. Isaiah 32:1-6