"The good will be preserved, the bad will not." -- Jesus

We have heard it a thousand times, "There's a little bit of good in everybody."

I would really like to believe that. I would like to think that there is good in everyone, and that while some may appear irascible, you will find some good if you look for it, if you look deep enough. Yes. Well . . .

Some years ago, I read an article by Catholic priest in one of the Internet news outlets I frequent. I thought the article was good and curiously, his email address was posted at the bottom of the article. Now, this gentleman has also made somewhat a name for himself. All I will say about his celebrity here is that he became a media lightning rod for the Catholic Church.

I was surprised to see the email link because people of his celebrity are usually well insulated from the common folk. On a whim, I sent a response to his article. I was amazed that in a couple of hours, he actually responded to my observations.

I had -- as I recall, gently -- questioned his notion of goodness in certain people, whose names would be instantly recognizable. I questioned him by saying something like, "I think that certain individuals are intrinsically evil," meaning that certain individuals have no parameters, no limitations, no restrictions to their evil intent and actions. Those who have no element of right in their person, whose only, and whose singular proclivity is evil.

Of course, they were not born that way. There was a time when they were babies and innocent children. But the time came in their experience when that changed. This is when they came to experience evil and liked it. Their lives became ensconced in it and hence, sealed in it. No doubt, Satan may have had something to do with this.

He responded to my observations with the remark, "If this were true, then it would make the incarnation of Christ of no consequence, wouldn't it." It was a statement, not a question.

Jesus did come to seek and to save the lost. He said so himself. He also taught that no one could come to God unless the Holy Spirit influence him to do so. Suppose one rejects this influence (blasphemes)? Evil people do this without even thinking about it. Jesus said the consequence of this is death.

There are some who energize their evil so much that they trample underfoot the blood of Christ. In some measure, we all do that. But there are also those who do it with ecstatic vigor and enjoy it! Does anyone come to mind? How else would you describe one who sits in secretive squalor, watching himself on TV, who, after killing almost 3,000 innocent people, spends his time plotting to kill even more, in fact, as many as he can, all the while impregnating his mind with pornographic images?

What of these pariahs and those who empathize with him? The words of Jesus are unambiguous: "The good will be preserved. The bad will not."

But if all fall short, and evil is only a matter of degree, who, indeed, are "the good?" Jesus said it best, "Only God is good."

In the ocean of human population -- there are 8 billion of us alive at the moment. Among these are those whose habit in life reveals the heart of God's love toward others. This comes naturally and easily as one engages Jesus, despite one's depravity. What of these?

They will be preserved.

The intrinsically evil, will not.

For reasons known only to my Catholic friend, he offered no explanation beyond his confounding statement. I guess he thought further elaboration would labor the obvious.

The Scriptures do tell us that God is Love. He is, therefore, loving, merciful, and forgiving with unhindered, infinite grace.

And for those who rage against him and continue in their evil depravity -- He is just.