Contrasts

There are certain things in life that only exist in contrast. That is, without one end of the spectrum, the other end isn't detectable. An obvious example would be darkness and light. Without one, you could not know the other. Shadow only exists where there is light to be blocked. But that's kind of esoteric. What are some other examples?

One of the better examples is bravery. You see, most people think of bravery as the absence of fear. It is not. If there is no fear, bravery cannot exist. If I am not afraid of tigers, then it is not brave of me to face one. (Stupid, perhaps, but not brave.) Bravery only exists when there is genuine fear. Bravery, then, is that quality that allows someone to do something that is frightening. Bravery does not exist without fear.

Very popular today is the concept of tolerance. Ask anyone, even a few dictionaries, and you'll find that it means "acceptance". Tolerance is embracing the beliefs or practices of others. This, of course, is nonsensical. You see, tolerance cannot exist in agreement. In order for tolerance to exist, there must first be a disagreement and it must be a disagreement that cannot be resolved. If you agree with another's view, it is not tolerance; it is agreement. The only place tolerance can exist is where there is a difference. Tolerance, then, permits the difference to continue, but doesn't accept or embrace it ... or it is no longer tolerance, but agreement. If you embrace it, there is no longer a disagreement and no need to tolerate.

How about mercy? If mercy is the withholding of a consequence that justice demands -- clemency -- then we can clearly understand that justice must exist. Without justice, there is no mercy. (Interestingly, justice can exist without mercy.)

In a similar vein, bad cannot exist without the contrasting good. If we do not have a standard by which we measure "good", we cannot say that anything is "bad". This is true whether we are speaking of good pizza or good behavior. "Good" and "bad" are comparative terms that require a standard to meet and a measure of whether or not it was met. No good, no bad.

And so it goes. A lot of people would like to eliminate contrasts. "Why can't there be an absence of evil? Why can't we all just get along? Why can't we eliminate fear?" Well, without evil, how would you know good? Without justice toward evil, how would you know mercy? Without differences, how would you know tolerance? With nothing to be afraid of, you could not know the marvel of courage. It is, in fact, this contrast that the Bible says was the reason that God allowed sin. Paul says that God's will was to demonstrate His wrath and power, an impossibility if there is no sin. Further, God's will was to demonstrate mercy, another impossibility without sin. Grace, mercy, justice, wrath, even love all become meaningless without their counterparts and all are essential elements of the nature of God. Evil? Bad. But not all bad. Without it we wouldn't understand that one who is forgiven much loves much. And that's a good thing to know.