Thinking Good about Bad People

Exodus 32:13

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.

Israel had just committed the great sin of setting up the golden calf. Moses had yet to see what these people did, though God had revealed it to him. God told Moses that He was going to destroy these people and make a great nation out of Moses. However, Moses said to God, Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants…” Moses was telling God to remember the good of Israel from the past, rather than focusing on the bad of the present Israel. Moses was asking God not to forget all the good of those from the past so that He would not destroy all of Israel because of their sin.

There is a critical truth in this passage that would help every person with their relationships. We all have to deal with the bad of people because every person is a sinner. I am constantly amazed by how we perceive one act of a person as bad and are ready to throw them out as if they are no good. Imagine if we had Moses' mindset on the thinking of the good of people instead of focusing on their bad. Imagine how much more could be done to influence people for right if we chose not to destroy people because of their present bad, but we remembered their good that they did. Let me remind you about a couple essential truths on this truth.

First, it is easy to find the bad in people. If you seek the bad that people do, you will be sure to find it. It is not hard to find the bad in people because every person is a sinner, including you. Stop letting the bad that people do shape your mindset about them. We must remember that God chooses to look at our good and not our bad.

Second, there is always some good in people that you can find if you choose to look for it. Because most people are prone to negativity, they are also less likely to seek the good in people. Because we are prone to taking the easiest route, we tend to focus on the bad rather than the good. Certainly, finding the good in people will not be easy, but you ought to make it your goal to find the good in every person. This is one of the reasons God commands us to be merciful, gracious, and longsuffering. He commands us to be these because this is what allows us to find the good in sinners. God also commands us to have charity one towards another, which if you do, charity will cover the sins of people to allow you to see they're good. If all you seek in people is their bad, then charity has no part in your life.

Third, don't package people because of their last act. We often allow sin to be the last act of people, and we never allow them to continue writing the book of their life because of the bad that they have done. My friend, if someone has done something bad, give them a space of grace to build good in their lives. God did this for you, and the only right thing that you ought to do is to give people some space to build good in their lives so that their lives can be used by God again.

The easiest way to live this type of life is to remember the past good that someone has done and let that be the focus of your memory of that person. Remembering the good of people helps us not to allow their sin to be the main narrative of their lives in our minds.