1 Kings 3:3-14
It’s one thing to know that there is good and that there is evil, but it’s an entirely different and better thing to be able to discern the difference! I think that perhaps those who first told the story in Genesis 3, about how the first people ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, might have been trying to say, “Wow, if only we could imagine or get back to a time when we didn’t even know about evil…” Well, lots of luck with that project, folks. We can’t imagine evil away. We can’t dress it up and pretend it isn’t there, either. We need the gift that Solomon asked for. We need to be practiced and proficient at discerning between what is good and what is evil. When we affirm the good and expose the evil, we are acting fully human. It can be painful and difficult, but it is part of our calling. We must identify and overcome the evils of oppression, separation, violence, and domination. In this way we can live, celebrate and share the abundant good we know through Christ – the good of unity, peace, and love.