The Problem With "Bad Guys"

As I have watched my four year old son play with his action figures, I have realized that he is subconsciously aware of the universal "norm" that there are always good guys and bad guys. I'm not sure how my son decides who the bad guys and good guys are (he often completely disregards the suggestion of the packaging that the action figure came in that clearly tells you whether they are a good or bad guy) but within a few minutes of playing, there is a distinct separation of good verses evil and the battle begins.

"Bad Guys" is such an elusive concept these days. Everybody believes that there are good guys and bad guys in this world but I'm pretty sure that everybody believes that they are the good guys and nobody believes that they are the "bad guys". So who are the bad guys? In the old "western" movies, it seems like the bad guys at least knew that they were the bad guys. Many of them wore black as if to say "I am wearing the official uniform of the bad guys because deep down in my heart I know that I am a bad guy"...but maybe that's just the movies...maybe there's never been a time where the bad guys knew that they were bad guys.

In our modern era of "a diagnosis for everything", we all have a reason for everything that we do. If I cheat on my wife, I have a sexual addiction. If I murder someone, I had a difficult upbringing and "acted out" in rage or I had to kill him/her before he/she had the chance to kill me. If I charge exorbitant prices or cheat a customer, it's because I saw everyone around me making the same kinds of compromises and it's just what you have to do to be "competitive".

The funny thing is, I'm not dismissing any of these justifications as "psychobabble" or anything like that and in many ways, we make similar decisions on a daily basis just maybe to a lesser degree. I understand how addictions and past experiences can very much influence and shape what we do today. We just all have our own reasons (in our minds) for doing what we do. But this again leads us back to the problem of "bad guys". If none of us think that we are inherently bad and have just made a few bad decisions along the way, then who are the "bad guys"? Do the "bad guys" officially become bad guys once they make the news? Did the the Tiger Woods's and the Enron's of the world become bad guys once they got caught but we're still good guys because we didn't get caught for making the same type of decisions?

Maybe the starting point for us as humans is to realize that none of us are the "good guys". I think anyone who is completely honest with his or her self has to come to the conclusion that without outside help, we really are broken inside and we are all the "bad guys". ..and maybe if we just added the word "too" to the end of our "he or she is a bad is a bad guy" judgements, we might find ourselves on the first step of our journey in becoming one of the "good guys".

Romans 3:23 (New International Version)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,