The Problem of Good

We talk often about “the problem of evil,” but rarely do we stop to consider the problem of good. A familiar Chinese parable illustrates the difficulty.

A farmer’s horse runs away. His neighbors sympathize: “That’s too bad.” He replies, “Maybe.”

The next day the horse returns, bringing seven wild horses with it. The neighbors celebrate: “That’s wonderful!” He replies, “Maybe.”

Soon after, the farmer’s son tries to ride one of the wild horses, is thrown, and breaks his leg. The neighbors lament: “That’s terrible!” He replies, “Maybe.”

A few days later, conscription officers arrive to draft young men into the army. The son is spared because of his injury. The neighbors rejoice: “Isn’t that great?” He replies, “Maybe.”

The story exposes something uncomfortable: we think we know what “good” and “bad” are, but our judgments are shallow, short sighted, and often wrong.

At the surface level, “good” is already too broad. Good in what sense? Morally? Physically? Nutritionally? A “good dog,” a “good man,” and a “good pizza” are not the same kind of good. Even when we reduce “good” to “a positive outcome,” the parable shows how unstable that definition is. What seems good today may prove harmful tomorrow, and what seems bad may turn out to be a blessing.

Then Scripture adds a deeper complication:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9)

If our hearts are deceitful, then our moral intuitions are not reliable guides. And the very next verse makes the point explicit:

“I, YHWH, search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways” (Jer. 17:10).

In other words, the categories of “good” and “bad” must be defined by God, not by morally compromised human perception.

This is why Scripture insists,

“There is none who does good, not even one” (Ps. 14:3).

Why? Because, as the psalm begins,

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt… there is none who does good” (Ps. 14:1).

We fail to do good because we fail to know good — and we fail to know good because we fail to acknowledge God. Jesus affirms the same truth:

“No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18).

If God alone is good, then goodness is not whatever we find pleasant, comfortable, or advantageous. Goodness is whatever aligns with God’s character, God’s purposes, and God’s design.

Good is that which accords with the true purpose, flourishing, and moral order of creation as defined by God Himself. It includes right intention, right action, right outcome, and right purpose — all measured by the One who searches the heart.

This is why “good” is so elusive. You cannot define it without first defining what humans are for. And you cannot define what humans are for without acknowledging the God who made them.

Once you do that, the entire shape of “good” changes. Everything God does is good — whether or not it feels pleasant, comfortable, or immediately understandable to us.