¹Both the depth of evil actions or height of great (good) achievement displays the greatness of God.
How? The void within that drives those to great harm (evil) or ²"great good" is so vast, whatis required to fill it must be equally vast i.e. the greatness of the void that drives them is because of the greatness of God. To say it another way, our capacity for God is such that the void left by His ³absence is in proportion to His greatness, i.e. the greater the object, the greater the hole (void) left by its absence. The greater the hole, the greater the vacuum it creates and energy/action required to fill it; energy used both to inflict great harm or achieve ²"great good." As a result, ⁴the most gifted are able to go to great extremes - both good or bad - in an attempt to fill it.
How? The void within that drives those to great harm (evil) or ²"great good" is so vast, what
Our desire for meaning, purpose, and value is insatiable - i.e. infinite - resulting in extreme behavior. Regardless, lasting meaning and purpose can only be filled by the infinite, i.e. something infinitely great, not something temporary.
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¹What I am addressing is extreme effort and results are the fruit of exceptional ability coupled with an extreme desire for greatness, power, achievement, etc. Good and evil come from the same place with rare exceptions (see the next footnote for the exception). What many call good is driven by the same void; the same absence of God that drives evil conduct. It may be "good" on the surface, but it still comes from a need to fill a void, not the result of being full and overflowing in goodness to others.
²Not all "good" actions are driven by the absence of God and the need to fill the void created by that absence. Some people are driven truly to give, not get-take. But they are those rare, "sold out" believers and followers of Jesus who are so captured by His love, they do all things for His honor and often do so unsung, because the good they do is to bring glory to God out of love for him and others, not to obtain (or seek) fame and the praise of others. The world could care less about God's glory and therefore about these worshipers of God. In fact, they are often ridiculed as foolish for being so "God-obsessed."
And how is it possible to do things solely for God's glory? Because of Christ, God - in the vastness of His infinite love - is present again (as originally intended) via His Spirit where the void used to be. And once He is, it is for us to believe this with every fiber of our being and all the implications of His being present.
²Not all "good" actions are
And how is it possible to do things solely for God's glory? Because of Christ, God - in the vastness of His infinite love - is present again (as originally intended) via His Spirit where the void used to be. And once He is, it is for us to believe this with every fiber of our being and all the implications of His being present.
³this absence is not due to God being unavailable but to our rebellious refusal to recognize it is He alone who must fill the void, resulting in our looking only to him to do so.
I am also addressing "good" as defined by the world; those highly "successful" in their field of endeavor, "superstars" such as high-profile entertainers, actors, artists, musicians, athletes, business tycoons, etc . These are individuals who have an impact in their particular field of endeavor (for good or harm), and leave a clear and significant mark on history. In fact, it is the desire to leave this mark that often drives them i.e. they are driven by the desire for their own fame and glory, not God's.
I would add all of usare driven in the same way without the love of Christ moving us to action i.e. absent God's love, we are driven to fill the void of God's absence. The difference I am addressing is some have a greater skill set, be it temperament, natural abilities (musical, athletic, verbal, creative, intellectual, etc), and such, and can therefore have a greater-more significant impact on the world than others.
I would add all of us
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Grace to you
Jim Deal