The Bad Guys

Something that seems to be a common trend recently has been sympathizing with and justifying the "bad guys".  This trend of downplaying evil or wrong and making that person or character into someone who was just, misunderstood.

I am not sure how to feel about this...

It is a little concerning how we care more about the bad guy than the good guy. Right now it just seems to be about understanding the bad guy- but is the next step wanting evil to defeat good? It makes me think more closely, especially in lieu of Christmas coming when the ultimate good guy came to earth to defeat evil for all time.

I can understand how in a lot of ways "the bad guy" can be more relatable in that we all tend to feel  we have messed up and fallen short like a 'bad guy' in some portion of our lives.  And maybe we want to relate and see them win because it gives us hope that we too, in our shortcomings, can one day overcome those decisions/actions... or it can give us hope that when we have messed up, other people will want to understand us before judging us.  While we as humans tend to be quick to judge and only look at what we can see, the ultimate judge knows our heart and cares more about our heart than our actions. The good guy usually represents and fights for solid and upright morals- what is right.  The only way that evil can truly overcome itself is by accepting and living out what is right- by recognizing and letting go of their evil ways and embracing the good.

And the reason the bad guy doesn't like the good is because it forces them to face the fact that they are falling short of that standard.  They are faced with the choices they made that lead them away from that. And that is hard.  It is something that they want to fight against- and get the way that seems to please them the most at the time instead of going the way that is right but more difficult. And realistically, even the good guy messes up and makes self-seeking decisions because he is not the ULTIMATE good guy.

Yes, it is nice to hope that when we fall short we will not be immediately and harshly judged, but it is not right to expect to not have any consequence to our actions.  Let us rejoice as Christmas approaches and we celebrate the coming of the ultimate good guy who defeated evil once and for all, whom evil never once overcame.

Happy Advent!