Opposite, but not equal

I've been thinking recently about how many opposite forces are not in fact opposites. Some of these that would typically be "opposites" are hot vs. cold, light vs. dark, good vs. evil, God vs. the devil, etc (I can't think of any more right now, but I'm sure there are more). But when I really think about these, they are not opposites, but one is usually the absence of the other. Darkness is merely the absence of light, cold is merely the absence of heat. So thus it follows that Evil is merely the absence of Good, and the devil/sin is merely the absence of God. It is common orthodox theology that the forces of the spiritual realm are not dualistic in nature (i.e. two forces forever equally pitted against each other), but that God is the much greater being, and the devil is merely a rebel who has fallen from the ultimate Good, and thus not at the same level as God and His Goodness. And, as C.S. Lewis put it, "badness is simply spoiled goodness."

So, when put in perspective of our lives, if the evil in us is merely the absence of God, then the answer is to fill our lives more and more with God, and chase out the evil. I see it kind of like a container that is two opposing substances that don't intermix, and there is constantly adjustments made as to which substance takes up more space in the container (us). We were meant for God and his goodness, but it has been spoiled by evil and sin. If we continue to fill our lives with good, there is no room for evil.

So let us fill our lives with good. Let us pursue God, the source of all goodness. Let's chase out evil with good, not only in our lives, but in this world. As Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." We complain about the sin in this world, but then don't do anything about it. Don't let your lives be about the absence; fill it with the source.