Are Right and Wrong synonymous with Good and Bad? Does not Good equal Right, and Bad equal Wrong? If we were to look in a thesaurus these words would be paired. And, in truth, Right and Good often are synonymous. But if we tease these words apart, make distinctions, and look more carefully and deeply, we may possibly think a little differently as the result.

For a few moments, consider that what we call Good is not necessarily Right, and what we call Bad is not necessarily Wrong.

If Elohim is God - if Yahweh has given the Law - if Yahshua is the Messiah - if God is Absolute - then it is God who determines Right and Wrong. If Yahweh is indeed the Heavenly Father and the Lawgiver to His spiritual children, then it is Yahweh who defines Right and Wrong. If we believe God truly is Absolute, then it is God who has the final say in what is Right and Wrong. Do you agree?

If God really is our Source - if God really is the Creator and Sustainer of all - if Yahweh really is King of the Universe - then He has the sovereign right to establish Right and Wrong. Does it not really make sense to you that if God says something is Right, it must be Right? And if God says something is Wrong, it must be Wrong? I hope you will agree with me for a moment that it is God who defines absolutely what is Right and what is Wrong.

Consider for a few moments that our Culture tells us what is Good or Bad. When I refer to “Culture” I am including not only Society in general, but also schools, churches, political parties, social clubs, families, and so forth. "The World" in which we live makes up Culture. Culture tells us what is “politically correct”. Advertisers tell us what is Good to wear, drive and drink. As a nation, we gulp down millions of gallons of soft drinks that are totally artificial and have absolutely no nutritional value. Fashion tells us what length of skirts and slacks is Good. We are shown again and again that full lips and bountiful bosoms on women are Good. Crooked teeth and broad hips are Bad, on both boys and girls.  

Television and movies show us what is Bad behavior and Bad thinking. Conservative Christians are typically portrayed as Bad, illogical, bigoted, and mentally unstable. The Media also tells us what is Good. It is presently considered Good to be tolerant of or even encouraging toward homosexuals, to love sports, and to spend beyond our means.

Society tells us it is Bad to spank children, and Good to pamper them. Society says it is Good to covet what others have. Culture says to older men it is Good to wear a hat with the bill facing forward, and Bad to wear a cap the other direction. Counter-Culture [which is also Culture - only for usually younger people] says the opposite. For young men it is Good to wear baggy pants that rest no higher than the hips, and Bad to wear slacks that fit around the waist that do not display the tops of underwear. The Fashion Culture tells us how wide lapels, neckties and belts ought to be, how long slacks and skirts should be, and the shape and color of shoes. In the modern civilization of consumerism and media, we are inundated by what we “should” be wearing, drinking, eating, driving, listening to, and thinking.

Culture in our families, schools, government and peer groups tells us how we are supposed to behave, how we are supposed to react, and what we are supposed to feel, and what we are supposed to think. We are oriented by them from a very young age into believing that certain ethnic groups are Bad [or at least not as Good as we are]. That certain occupations are either Bad or Good. That having a tattoo and lip-piercing is either Bad or Good.

The reality is that between parents, teachers, advertisers, retailers, our peers, and popular books and television programs, we are conditioned to believe that some thoughts and behaviors are Appropriate [Good] and others are Inappropriate [Bad].

In this brief exercise we have defined that Right and Wrong are established by God, and Good and Bad are defined by Culture. So if Elohim says something is Right, should we not, as Children of God, accept that as Absolute? What the Word of God says is Right should be, for the People of the Covenant, the ultimate answer. Likewise, what Holy Scripture says is Wrong ought to be considered our perfect “benchmark”. If God says something is Right, how can we - how dare we say it is Bad? When Elohim has said that something is Wrong, what right do we have to say it is Good?

The reality is that churches and synagogues are all influenced by the Cultures in which they function. This means that churches and synagogues often confuse current
”political correctness” or “prevailing morality” with Right. Sometimes Culture and God agree. Culture says that murder is Bad and God says that murder is Wrong - so there is agreement. Rape, incest and robbery are considered both Bad and Wrong. But in many, many instances, what churches and synagogues teach is Good is not Right in the eyes of God. Conversely, what many synagogues and churches teach is Bad is not necessarily Wrong according to the Commandments of Yahweh.

What that means is that religious institutions, ministers, priests, rabbis, quorums and councils are often Wrong! Whenever they use the definitions and criteria of "the world" instead of those of God, they are often in error. Many times, they are teaching a blend of Culture and God - thereby misleading and confusing their adherents. Religious denominations often, in fact, are teaching and believing tenets that are the opposite of what Scripture presents to us.

If we believe that Elohim is God. If our hearts have been converted. If we believe that Scripture - all of Scripture - contains the Word of God, which defines Right and Wrong for us - then we ought to investigate what God has said is Right, Appropriate and Acceptable, and what God says is Wrong, Inappropriate, and Unacceptable. In so doing, we become submissive, respectful, obedient, loving Children of the Most High.

           Let us look to the Word for our Absolute. Yahweh, the Heavenly Father, gave us Rules and Guidelines that we call Commandments. In His Torah He defined Right and Wrong. Let us look through the fog of current Culture and discover what God says, and align our minds, hearts, spirits, and behaviors accordingly. Let us fill our minds with what Elohim says is Right and Wrong, instead of relying on our Culture for directions in life. Let us look to for the definitions of Right and Wrong instead of television, talk-show hosts, friends, and even, perhaps, instead of a church denomination.