There's no such thing as a "good" or "bad" person.

I know, what about the murderers and rapists and pedophiles and all the like, right? And on the flip-side what about the Mother Teresa's of the world?  How could there not be "bad" or "good" people?

I am a believer in God and a spiritual person.  It is my belief that God creates us all for a purpose.  Some chose to step completely outside of that purpose and others continue in it.  As you meet people, you may see them doing good or doing bad. 

Now I'm not stupid. I don't step in with a hope that I can "change" people. Not at all.  My perspective comes from my own experiences with people and knowing how some people have experienced me.   I can't explain fully why some people act out in ways that harm innocent people.  But I can say that I have personally acted in ways that hurt people.

If you met me a short time ago, you would more than likely have a negative perception of who I am.  You know, the whole first impressions are lasting impressions thing.  Even some of the people who have known me the longest would say I am cold, standoffish, mean, selfish, etc.

Truth is, I am none of that, and I have shown all of that. People can know you for a long time and still not know you.  They only know what you show.  And often, they make snap judgments.  If you are not like them, and they consider themselves "good" people, then you are automatically a bad person.  Not so, in my opinion.

I have met people who have done horrible things, but to some they would be considered a "good" person.  Is a man with a high IQ who mentors children, curses like a sailor and once sold drugs good or bad? Is a woman who would give you her last dime and go out of her way to do for others, but also knowingly sleeps with married men, good or bad?

After all, how do you determine if someone is bad or good? Is there a scale? Do they have to do a certain number of good things to negate the number of bad things they've done?  What if they've always done good things and then one day they do something bad? Is the person now bad? Or if they've always done bad things and now they do something tremendously good?  What's the magic number?

To me there are no magic numbers, there are no good or bad people.  There are just people who do good or bad things.  When you label someone and put them in a box, you will either get surprised or disappointed.  We are all fallible.  Capable of good and evil.

We all have choices.  One bad decision can carry you down a bad path for a long time.  But you still have choices along the way.  One good decision can carry you down a good path for a long time.  

Each step...
Each path...
Each direction...

A CHOICE... A DECISION... A CONSEQUENCE 

No matter how far you veer off the good path, there will be another path to redemption.