Why did God create evil?  This answer got me thinking ...

A professor at a university asked his students the following question:

"Everything that exists was created by God? Yes?"

One student bravely answered:

"Yes, created by God".

"Did God create everything?" - the professor re-phrased.

“Yes, sir,” replied the student.

The professor asked :

"Well, if God created everything, then God created evil, since it exists.  And according to the principle that our deeds define ourselves, then God is evil."

The student became silent after hearing such an answer.  The professor was very pleased with himself.  He boasted to students for proving once again that faith in God is a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said:

"May I ask you a question, Professor?"

"Of course," replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked: "Professor, is cold a thing?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course cold is a thing. Have you ever been cold?"

The students laughed at the young man's question. The young man answered:

"Actually, sir, cold doesn't exist.  According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is actually the absence of heat. A person or object can be studied on whether it has, or transmits, energy.

Absolute zero (-460 degrees Fahrenheit) is a complete absence of heat.  All matter becomes inert and unable to react at this temperature.  Cold does not exist.  We created this word to describe what we feel in the absence of heat."

The student continued:

"Professor, does darkness exist?"

"Of course it exists." replied the Professor.

"You're wrong again, sir.  Darkness also does not exist.  Darkness is actually the absence of light.  We can study the light but not the darkness.  We can use Newton's prism to spread white light across multiple colours and explore the different wavelengths of each colour.  You can't measure darkness.  A simple ray of light can break into the world of darkness and illuminate it.  How can you tell how dark a certain space is?  You measure how much light is presented.  Isn't it so?  Darkness is a term man uses to describe what happens in the absence of light."

In the end, the young man asked the professor:

"Sir, does evil exist?"

This time the professor was a little uncertain when he answered:

"As I said before. We see evil every day. Cruelty, numerous crimes and violence throughout the world. These examples are nothing but a manifestation of evil."

To this, the student answered:

"Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist as a created element.  Evil is the absence of God's love.  It is like darkness and cold — a word to describe the absence of love.  God did not create evil.  God created free-will.  We all have free-will.  Evil is not like faith or love, which exist like light and warmth.  Evil is the absence of divine love in the human heart. It’s the kind of cold that comes when there is no heat, or the kind of darkness that comes when there’s no light."

The student's name was Albert Einstein.


Similarly ... 

in the absence of clear goals, we have wasted effort,

in the absence of planning, we have wasted resources,

in the absence of budgeting, we have poor stewardship,

in the absence of God's word, we have erroneous beliefs,

in the absence of sound teaching, we have false doctrines,

in the absence of fellowship, we have easy targets for the evil ones,

in the absence of prayer, we have personality-based leadership,

in the absence of the Holy Spirit, we have the works of the flesh.

This one is gold.

Mel Robinson speaks to the 5 second rule in her videos below ... no it's not the food-on-the-floor rule.

If you're about to blow your stack ...
    breath in twice through your nose
    count backwards from 5 down to 1 as you exhale through your mouth
    and then ask yourself ... "what outcome do I really want here?"

Later, when you're in a reflective mood, ask yourself "what was I really afraid of in the that confrontation?"

Watch Mel's 15m explanation.