Initially,
Nice Guys
May
Finish Last
By Synthia Robinson-Pack
In the old western movies, the good guys wore white and the bad guys wore black. It was easy to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys. We also knew in the end the good guys would win the battle and the lovely lady. That's the way it was. These movies, however, were nothing more than gentle dreams filled with equal amounts of innocence and rawhide, ideas that Good would always triumph over Evil and justice would prevail.
Today it seems as if society is no longer impressed with crooning cowboys or justice. It has become almost impossible to determine the good guys from the bad guys. Many times it seems as if the bad guys are the ones who are winning. We are all familiar with the old saying "Nice guys finish last.". But is it true? Do nice guys really finish last? In the battle of Good and Evil, is Evil actually winning?
Evaluating Who's Winning
There are many references in the Bible to "first" and "last." God understands that people tend to evaluate who is winning and who is losing in the battle of life. He knows we put great emphasis on our position in life and the position of those around us. In fact, Jesus' disciples had a dispute over who would be first, or greatest, among them.
And [Jesus] came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. Mark 9:33-35
The First Will Be Last?
Jesus' reply was an oxymoronic statement: to be first you should be last? At first appearance, that may not make any sense; if we grasp this Truth, however, it can forever change our lives.
Jesus was teaching that we must concentrate on others and not ourselves. We must not think higher of ourselves than of others. We must also realize that just because someone is first in this temporal life, does not mean that person will be first in eternity. He was trying to get us to focus on the final eternal position in which we are placed in life.
When we watched the old cowboy movies, many times it seemed as if the good guy was doomed and that he would never defeat the bad guy. The good guy was often ambushed and run out of town. If we watched the end of the movie, however, we discovered that once again Good defeated Evil.
We Must Wait To See The Results
In many ways, reality is like those old movies. To determine who is actually winning, we must play out the entire episode - from beginning to end. Unfortunately, in life we are unable to see the finality of these battles. But one day we will all stand and witness the final triumph of Good over Evil as each person stands in the Judgment of God and receives his recompense, whether good or bad.
For now, we must understand that although it may seem as if the bad guys are winning, the end has not played out. Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7
© Copyright 1993, Synthia Robinson-Pack. All rights reserved.