so doing the judges are straightening out the wrongdoers and are caring for
people in the area by preventing the wrongdoers from doing them harm.
Everyone knows that parents who punish their children for doing
what is wrong are showing them love; and on the other hand, parents
who do not punish their children for doing what is wrong are showing
love for evil traits in their children, which has nothing to do with
goodwill.
For another example, suppose someone under the attack of an
enemy repels the attacker and either strikes in self-defense or turns the
attacker over to a judge to avoid being harmed. Say the victor maintains
an intention nonetheless of becoming the attacker’s friend. Then the vic-
tor is acting on the strength of goodwill. Even wars for the purpose of
keeping the country and the church safe are not against goodwill. The
ultimate purpose shows whether a given act is an expression of goodwill
or not.
408 Fundamentally speaking, goodwill is wanting what is best for others.
This desire resides in the inner self. When people of goodwill resist an
enemy, punish a guilty person, or discipline evil people, clearly they do
so through the medium of their outer selves. Therefore after the situation
comes to an end, they go back to the goodwill that is in their inner selves.
As much and as usefully as they can, they then wish the others well and
benefit those others in a spirit of goodwill.
People who have genuine goodwill have a passion for what is good.
In their outer selves that passion can look like rage and blazing anger,
but it dies away and becomes calm as soon as their opponents come
back to their senses. It is very different for people who have no good-
will. Their passion is a rage and a hatred that heat and ignite their
innerselves.409 Before the Lord came into the world, almost no one knew what the
inner self was or what goodwill was. That is why in so many passages
the Lord teaches love and goodwill. This is a distinguishing feature
between the Old Testament or Covenant and the New.
In Matthew the Lord teaches that we are to do good to our adver-
saries and enemies and have goodwill toward them:
You have heard the statement made to the ancients, “You are to love
your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I am saying to you, love your
enemies, bless the people who are cursing you, do good to the people
who are hating you, and pray for the people who are hurting you and