“
She always made sure the bad was outweighed by so much good. I...well, I didn't do that for her. I made it fifty-fifty. Which is about the cruelest thing you can do to someone you love, give them just enough good to make them stick through a hell of a lot of bad.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)
“
Is he making you happy? I don’t mean some of the time, on rare occasions, not that often, “but the good still outweighs the bad.” Does he make it clear in his actions every day that your happiness is important to him?
”
”
Greg Behrendt (He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys)
“
That was the danger. Not that betrayals happened, not that cruel things happened, but that they could outweigh all the good. That we could forget the good and only remember the bad.
”
”
Louise Penny (Bury Your Dead (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #6))
“
..we'll deal with it, because the good outweighs the bad.
”
”
E. Lockhart (The Treasure Map of Boys: Noel, Jackson, Finn, Hutch, Gideon—and me, Ruby Oliver (Ruby Oliver, #3))
“
Eventually, it becomes a matter of scale. When the good outweighs the bad, you stay. When the bad is the only thing you notice anymore, you think about your future, or what’s left of it, consider options.
”
”
Ellen Hopkins (Rumble)
“
If you just stop expecting perfection from everyone and everything, you might see the good stuff outweighs the bad. And then maybe someday you’ll look in the mirror and see the same thing.
”
”
Erin Jade Lange (Butter)
“
Maybe that's what history is, you go from one I can't believe it the next. And sometimes the I can't believe its are good, and sometimes they're bad. But the sum total of positive ones always outweighs the negative ones.
”
”
David Levithan (Wide Awake)
“
You have to decide if the relationship is worth salvaging. Make a list of the good stuff, then made a list of the bad stuff. If one outweighs the other, then you know what you gotta do. Trust me, that method hasn't failed me yet. . . . What if the good doesn't outweigh the bad? . . . Then let her go. And if you keep her in your life and she keeps doing the bad, let her go.
”
”
Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1))
“
One takes what the river offers, both good and bad. The joy of living by running water far outweighs the sorrow.
”
”
Matthew Goldman (The Journals of Constant Waterman: Paddling, Poling, and Sailing for the Love of It)
“
If the bad starts to outweigh the good, baby girl, then focus only on the good, because when you’re thankful for the good, you’ll end up havin’ more of it.
”
”
K.C. Lynn (Sweet Temptation (Men of Honor, #2))
“
You can’t change what happened in there. Just like you can’t change the fact that the courtyard used to give you peace. You just replace your last memory—a bad one—with a new one—a good one—and you keep doing that until the initial one no longer outweighs the replacement.
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout (From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash, #1))
“
Wait, Armand, he heard behind him but kept walking, ignoring the calls. Then he remembered what Emile had meant to him and still did. Did this one bad thing wipe everything else out?
That was the danger. Not that betrayals happened, not that cruel things happened, but that they could outweigh all the good. That we could forget the good and only remember the bad.
But not today. Gamache stopped.
”
”
Louise Penny (Bury Your Dead (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #6))
“
I chose me, and it might not be perfect, it might not be a dream or fairytale, but my good days outweigh the bad. That's all we can hope for in life, isn't it?
”
”
J.J. McAvoy (A Bloody Kingdom (Ruthless People, #4))
“
If you just stop expecting perfection from everyone and everything, you might see the good stuff outweighs the bad. And then someday you'll look in the mirror and see the same thing. Because the person you're most disappointed in is yourself.
”
”
Erin Jade Lange (Butter)
“
I tend to think the good outweighs the bad. Then again, I try to be a glass-half-full person. Although I stand by my theory that if you measure your happiness by the amount of liquid in your glass, you are either a cliche or an alcoholic.
”
”
Caprice Crane
“
The argument has long been made that we humans are by nature compassionate and empathic despite the occasional streak of meanness, but torrents of bad news throughout history have contradicted that claim, and little sound science has backed it. But try this thought experiment. Imagine the number of opportunities people around the world today might have to commit an antisocial act, from rape or murder to simple rudeness and dishonesty. Make that number the bottom of a fraction. Now for the top value you put the number of such antisocial acts that will actually occur today.
That ratio of potential to enacted meanness holds at close to zero any day of the year. And if for the top value you put the number of benevolent acts performed in a given day, the ratio of kindness to cruelty will always be positive. (The news, however, comes to us as though that ratio was reversed.)
Harvard's Jerome Kagan proposes this mental exercise to make a simple point about human nature: the sum total of goodness vastly outweighs that of meanness. 'Although humans inherit a biological bias that permits them to feel anger, jealousy, selfishness and envy, and to be rude, aggressive or violent,' Kagan notes, 'they inherit an even stronger biological bias for kindness, compassion, cooperation, love and nurture – especially toward those in need.' This inbuilt ethical sense, he adds, 'is a biological feature of our species.
”
”
Daniel Goleman (Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships)
“
Life is about balance. It's not about forgetting the bad times or escaping them. It's about creating enough good times to outweigh the bad.
”
”
Tommy Cotton (Just Went Out for Milk)
“
That was the danger. Not that betrayals happened, not that cruel things happened, but that they could outweigh all the good. That we could forget the good and only remember the bad.
”
”
Louise Penny (Bury Your Dead (Armand Gamache, #6))
“
You must accept that there will be things in life that are not good, but they are outweighed by the good things. If there were no bad, we would not appreciate the wonders that life has to offer. There will be fear, but you must not let it win.
”
”
Ruby Dixon (Barbarian's Prize (Ice Planet Barbarians, #5))
“
What if I mess this up?" I murmured.
Clark’s hand tightened over mine. "It’s not going to be perfect because no marriage is. You’re going to fight, clash, say things you don’t mean... When you love someone, these things can happen. But, Joss" –he dipped his head to meet my gaze– "the good you two will have together will always outweigh any bad. He smiled."And I think Braden’s proved there’s not much you can do to chase him off.
”
”
Samantha Young (Castle Hill (On Dublin Street, #3.5))
“
I'm starting to wonder why were friends.”
“Well, Munch, you have to decide if the relationship is worth salvaging. Make a list of the good stuff, then make a list of the bad stuff. If one outweighs the other, then you know what you gotta do. Trust me, that method hasn’t failed me yet.
”
”
Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1))
“
Good outweighs bad with every single positive deed that occurs on earth. This is a world made up of energy, and we have the ability to impact on that energy for good or for ill. The choice is ours, and it is a choice we make with all our actions, every day.
”
”
Kathleen McGowan (The Source of Miracles: Seven Powerful Steps to Transforming Your Life Through the Lord's Prayer)
“
That, Lincoln understood, was the moral work of politics: to make the good outweigh the bad.
”
”
Jon Meacham (And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle)
“
….you have to decide if the relationship is worth salvaging. Make a list of the good stuff, then make a list of the bad stuff. If one outweighs the other, then you know what you gotta do.
”
”
Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1))
“
I believe in life. I believe the good outweighs the bad. I believe we’re on a journey here that is filled with beauty and pain, happiness and horror, highs and lows, but it’s a journey we must take because we never know the impact our lives and love will have on others.
”
”
Viola Shipman (The Secret of Snow)
“
Don't let imperfections or petty differences hinder love. We don't all have to agree on everything in order to create harmony within our own circles. We simply have to respect divergent opinions and recognize the good in the imperfect people we love--which more often then not will outweigh the bad.
”
”
Irene Hannon (Starfish Pier (Hope Harbor, #6))
“
House. “There are few things wholly evil, or wholly good. Almost everything, especially of governmental policy, is an inseparable compound of the two; so that our best judgment of the preponderance between them is continually demanded.” That, Lincoln understood, was the moral work of politics: to make the good outweigh the bad.
”
”
Jon Meacham (And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle)
“
There are many good days that outweigh the bad. And besides, imaginations are transportable. They even follow one into poverty.
”
”
Joanna Davidson Politano
“
You always have to trust that there are good people out there in the world, and even if the bad people have louder mouths, the good people have bigger hearts. And those hearts will outweigh the mouths.
”
”
Meghan Quinn (The Romantic Pact (Kings of Football, #2))
“
There is a further (non-distributional) consideration that can affect an assessment of a life’s quality. Arguably, once a life reaches a certain threshold of badness (considering both the amount and the distribution of its badness), no quantity of good can outweigh it, because no amount of good could be worth that badness. It is just this assessment that Donald (‘Dax’) Cowart made of his own life—or at least of that part of his life following a gas explosion that burnt two-thirds of his body. He refused extremely painful, life-saving treatment, but the doctors ignored his wishes and treated him nonetheless. His life was saved, he achieved considerable success, and he reattained a satisfactory quality of life. Yet, he continued to maintain that these post-burn goods were not worth the costs of enduring the treatments to which he was subjected. No matter how much good followed his recovery, this could not
outweigh, at least in his own assessment, the bad of the burns and treatment that he experienced.
”
”
David Benatar (Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence)
“
It’s only settling if the bad outweighs the good. I can search my whole life for the perfect man and never find him. I want a real man who loves me, one who may not be everything I want, but who’s willing to be what I need.
”
”
Carmel Rhodes (Truly)
“
Kennedy: You mean it’s not a matter of good deeds versus bad deeds, a kind of moral bookkeeping? Lewis: No indeed. Look at the thief on the cross. He made it to paradise even though his life’s red ink certainly outweighed the black. Kennedy:
”
”
Peter Kreeft (Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis & Aldous Huxley)
“
That is not to say that the good will always outweigh the bad. Or that it comes free and without cost. But there is always some good—even if only barely perceptible at first—contained within the bad. And we can find it and be cheerful because of it.
”
”
Ryan Holiday (The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph)
“
Bad things will happen to good people, but a good God has for us a good end, for these bad things will bring about good results: “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
”
”
Norman L. Geisler (If God, Why Evil?: A New Way to Think About the Question)
“
She always made sure the bad was outweighed by so much good. I… well, I didn’t do that for her. I made it fifty-fifty. Which is about the cruelest thing you can do to someone you love, give them just enough good to make them stick through a hell of a lot of bad.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)
“
Good religious people are not good because of the moral teachings in their holy books—they are good despite the immoral teachings—that is, their genetics and other factors, which would make them good people, outweigh their indoctrination. By the same token, bad religious people are bad despite the good teachings in their holy books. Both are victims of the indoctrination they’ve received as a part of their religion cycle. It’s all picking and choosing from the religious cafeteria. It’s all individual. It’s all relative.
”
”
David Silverman (Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World)
“
She always made sure the bad was outweighed by so much good. I... well, I didn't do that for her. I made it fifty-fifty. Which is about the cruelest thing you can do to someone you love, give them just enough good to make them stick through a hell of a lot of bad.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)
“
She could see so much in those eyes: pain, vulnerability, and...something tender and soft as he looked at her. True, there was darkness, but it seemed more a result of what had been done to him than what he would do to others. The good in those eyes far outweighed the bad.
”
”
Kalcee Clornel (The Emerald Fae (Faerie Believers, #1))
“
Chris used to say that he would spend a lot of time in the woodshed when he got to heaven, but believe me, if St. Peter takes him back there at all, it will be for the briefest of moments. The good far, far outweighed whatever bad there was. We’re all human, of course, and none of us are perfect, but Chris was far above the average part of the spectrum.
”
”
Taya Kyle (American Wife: Love, War, Faith, and Renewal)
“
Only One
[Intro]
As I lay me down to sleep
I hear her speak to me
[Verse 1]
Hello 'Mari, how ya doin'?
I think the storm ran out of rain, the clouds are moving
I know you're happy, cause I can see it
So tell the voice inside ya' head to believe it
I talked to God about you, he said he sent you an angel
And look at all that he gave you
You asked for one and you got two
You know I never left you
Cause every road that leads to heaven's right inside you
So I can say
[Hook 1]
Hello my only one, just like the morning sun
You'll keep on rising till the sky knows your name
Hello my only one, remember who you are
No you're not perfect but you're not your mistakes
[Verse 2]
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Oh the good outweighs the bad even on your worst day
Remember how I'd say
Hey hey one day you'll be the man you always knew you could be
And if you knew how proud I was
You'd never shed a tear, have a fear, no you wouldn't do that
And though I didn't pick the day to turn the page
I know it's not the end every time I see her face, and I hear you say
[Hook 2]
Hello my only one, remember who you are
You got the world cause you got love in your hands
And you're still my chosen one
So can you understand? One day you'll understand
[Bridge]
So hear me out, hear me out
I won't go, I won't go
No goodbyes, no goodbyes
Just hello, just hello
And when you cry, I will cry
And when you smile, I will smile
And next time when I look in your eyes
We'll have wings and we'll fly
[Hook 3]
Hello my only one, just like the morning sun
You'll keep on rising till the sky knows your name
And you're still my chosen one, remember who you are
No you're not perfect but you're not your mistakes
[Outro]
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Tell Nori about me, tell Nori ab-
I just want you to do me a favor
Tell Nori about me, tell Nori about me
Tell Nori about me, tell Nori about me
Tell Nori about me, tell Nori about me
Tell Nori about me, tell Nori about me
Tell Nori about me...
”
”
Kanye West
“
In the Middle Ages, marriage was considered a sacrament ordained by God, and God also authorised the father to marry his children according to his wishes and interests. An extramarital affair was accordingly a brazen rebellion against both divine and parental authority. It was a mortal sin, no matter what the lovers felt and thought about it. Today people marry for love, and it is their inner feelings that give value to this bond. Hence, if the very same feelings that once drove you into the arms of one man now drive you into the arms of another, what’s wrong with that? If an extramarital affair provides an outlet for emotional and sexual desires that are not satisfied by your spouse of twenty years, and if your new lover is kind, passionate and sensitive to your needs – why not enjoy it?
But wait a minute, you might say. We cannot ignore the feelings of the other concerned parties. The woman and her lover might feel wonderful in each other’s arms, but if their respective spouses find out, everybody will probably feel awful for quite some time. And if it leads to divorce, their children might carry the emotional scars for decades. Even if the affair is never discovered, hiding it involves a lot of tension, and may lead to growing feelings of alienation and resentment.
The most interesting discussions in humanist ethics concern situations like extramarital affairs, when human feelings collide. What happens when the same action causes one person to feel good, and another to feel bad? How do we weigh the feelings against each other? Do the good feelings of the two lovers outweigh the bad feelings of their spouses and children?
It doesn’t matter what you think about this particular question. It is far more important to understand the kind of arguments both sides deploy. Modern people have differing ideas about extramarital affairs, but no matter what their position is, they tend to justify it in the name of human feelings rather than in the name of holy scriptures and divine commandments. Humanism has taught us that something can be bad only if it causes somebody to feel bad. Murder is wrong not because some god once said, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ Rather, murder is wrong because it causes terrible suffering to the victim, to his family members, and to his friends and acquaintances. Theft is wrong not because some ancient text says, ‘Thou shalt not steal.’ Rather, theft is wrong because when you lose your property, you feel bad about it. And if an action does not cause anyone to feel bad, there can be nothing wrong about it. If the same ancient text says that God commanded us not to make any images of either humans or animals (Exodus 20:4), but I enjoy sculpting such figures, and I don’t harm anyone in the process – then what could possibly be wrong with it?
The same logic dominates current debates on homosexuality. If two adult men enjoy having sex with one another, and they don’t harm anyone while doing so, why should it be wrong, and why should we outlaw it? It is a private matter between these two men, and they are free to decide about it according to their inner feelings. In the Middle Ages, if two men confessed to a priest that they were in love with one another, and that they never felt so happy, their good feelings would not have changed the priest’s damning judgement – indeed, their happiness would only have worsened the situation. Today, in contrast, if two men love one another, they are told: ‘If it feels good – do it! Don’t let any priest mess with your mind. Just follow your heart. You know best what’s good for you.
”
”
Yuval Noah Harari (Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow)
“
Because I believe that the beauty of life outweighs the bad. And I know that were I to take up the banner against such hatred, they would use my Otherness to hurt more than just me. Tis better that I take Will’s own words to heart, which he so eloquently penned. ‘The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.’” Trust Horatio to use a quote from Shakespeare to make his point, even though I needed it interpreted. “What does that mean?” His rumbling chuckle vibrated against me like thunder. “Simply put, life is messy. You cannot have all good, for without the bad as well, how would you recognize that which is fair? Without knowing the darker feelings of your kin, I would not appreciate the goodness of your friendship as much.
”
”
Bella Falls (Cornbread & Crossroads (Southern Charms Mystery, #6))
“
It is one of the great tragedies of our time that the masses have come to believe that they have reached their high standard of material welfare as a result of having pulled down the wealthy, and to fear that the preservation or emergence of such a class would deprive them of something they would otherwise get and which they regard as their due. We have seen why in a progressive society there is little reason to believe that the wealth which the few enjoy would exist at all if they were not allowed to enjoy it. It is neither taken from the rest nor withheld from them. It is the fi rst sign of a new way of living begun by the advance guard. True, those who have this privilege of displaying possibilities which only the children or grandchildren of others will enjoy are not generally the most meritorious individuals but simply those who have been placed by chance in their envied position. But this fact is inseparable from the process of growth, which always goes further than any one man or group of men can foresee. To prevent some from enjoying certain advantages fi rst may well prevent the rest of us from ever enjoying them. If through envy we make certain exceptional kinds of life impossible, we shall all in the end suffer material and spiritual impoverishment. Nor can we eliminate the unpleasant manifestations of individual success without destroying at the same time those forces which make advance possible. One may share to the full the distaste for the ostentation, the bad taste, and the wastefulness of many of the new rich and yet recognize that, if we were to prevent all that we disliked, the unforeseen good things that might be thus prevented would probably outweigh the bad. A world in which the majority could prevent the appearance of all that they did not like would be a stagnant and probably a declining world.
”
”
Friedrich A. Hayek (The Constitution of Liberty)
“
I was shocked to have to admit to myself that not only had I accepted a complex theory somewhat uncritically, but that I had also actually noticed quite a bit of what was wrong, in the theory as well as in the practice of communism. But I had repressed this -partly out of loyalty to my friends, partly out of loyalty to "the cause", and partly because there is a mechanism of getting oneself more and more deeply involved: once one has sacrificed one's intellectual conscience over a minor point one doesn't wish to give in too easily; one wishes to justify the self-sacrifice by convincing oneself of the fundamental goodness of the cause, which is seen to outweigh any little moral or intellectual compromise that maybe required. With every such moral or intellectual sacrifice one gets more deeply involved. One becomes ready to back one's moral or intellectual investments in the cause with further investments. It's like being eager to throw good money after bad.
”
”
Karl Popper (Unended Quest: An Intellectual Autobiography (Routledge Classics))
“
The good performed by some of United Nations institutions, such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF, has been outweighed by the amount of bad the UN has either abetted or allowed. It has enabled genocide in Rwanda, done little or nothing to stop genocide in the Congo and Sudan, given a respectable forum to tyrannies, convened conferences (the Durban Conferences on racism) that simply became forums for anti-Semitism, and been preoccupied with vilifying one of its relatively few humane states, Israel. Its moral failings were further exemplified by its placing Qaddafi’s Libya on its Human Rights Commission, Iran on its Commission on the Status of Women, and North Korea on the Nuclear Disarmament Commission. It is not that the people who run the United Nations are bad people; it is that the United Nations is run by a majority of the world’s governments, and they are run by bad people. Without America in the Security Council, the bad would nearly always prevail.
”
”
Dennis Prager (Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph)
“
Jd_O wti d-d-
God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
-GENESIS 1:31
As we look at life, are we bound to the idea that bad things happen to people? Look at all the bad news on television and radio. The newspapers are full of disasters: people dying of illness, accidents, drownings, fires destroying property, uprisings in countries abroad, and on and on. Do you sometimes ask God, "Why me?"
As we look around, we get the idea that everything is falling apart, and our whole world is in a spiral downward. Charles L. Allen expressed this idea about our perspective: Our glasses aren't half-empty; they are really half-full. He says,
It seems to be a general belief that the will of God is to make things distasteful for us, like taking medicine when we are sick or going to the dentist. Somebody needs to tell us that sunrise is also God's will. In fact, the good things in life far outweigh the bad. There are more sunrises than cyclones.
His glass was certainly half-full.
There's a story of a young boy who was on top of a pile of horse manure digging as fast and as hard as he could. His father, seeing his son work so hard on a pile of smelly waste, asked, "Weston, what are you doing on that pile of horse manure?" Weston replied, "Daddy, with this much horse manure there must be a pony here somewhere." This son certainly had his glass half-full. You, too, can choose to be positive in all events of life. There is goodness in everything-if we will only look for it.
PRAYER
Father God, thank You for helping me be a positive person. I appreciate You giving me
”
”
Emilie Barnes (The Tea Lover's Devotional)
“
Yes, I love Peter. More than I will ever love another soul... I remember the night that she died. He left the hangar without a word. The others, Logan, Ororo, Jean... They all thought they were doing him a favor by giving him space. But that was the last thing he needed. If there was a X-Man voted "Most likely to hug"... it was Peter.
I found him out by the pool, of all places. "You okay?" I asked, knowing what a stupid question it was. Also knowing that there are some times in life when only a stupid question will do. "I remember..." he began. The words choked off by his grief. A moment passed, and he try again. "I remember the first time Illyana saw the swimming pool. She was amazed... as awestruck as I was the first time I battled a Sentinel or squared off against the Brood. I thought that by bringing her here to live with us, I took pride in knowing I was introducing her to an entirely new world. But that's not true, is it? he asked, tears filling his eyes. "All I did by bringing her here... was to kill her."
I wanted to tell him he was wrong. I wanted to tell him that no matter what she lost - to think of what she had gained along the way. She had seen the stars. She had witnessed first-hand the best and worst that mankind had to offer. She helped saved the world... more than once. I wanted to say all those things... to make him feel better. But I couldn't. Because I didn't believe the good outweighed the bad. And neither did he. So instead I said nothing. That how we spent the night... two best friends, holding each other.
Here I am... holding him in my arms again. Only this time, I don't have to comfort him. I don't have to protect him. I don't have to do anything... but say goodbye. Welcome home, Peter Nikolaevitch Rasputin...
”
”
Chris Claremont (X-Men: Dream's End)
“
The most interesting discussions in humanist ethics concern situations like extramarital affairs, when human feelings collide. What happens when the same action causes one person to feel good, and another to feel bad? How do we weigh the feelings against each other? Do the good feelings of the two lovers outweigh the bad feelings of their spouses and children?
It doesn’t matter what you think about this particular question. It is far more important to understand the kind of arguments both sides deploy. Modern people have differing ideas about extramarital affairs, but no matter what their position is, they tend to justify it in the”
“name of human feelings rather than in the name of holy scriptures and divine commandments. Humanism has taught us that something can be bad only if it causes somebody to feel bad. Murder is wrong not because some god once said, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ Rather, murder is wrong because it causes terrible suffering to the victim, to his family members, and to his friends and acquaintances. Theft is wrong not because some ancient text says, ‘Thou shalt not steal.’ Rather, theft is wrong because when you lose your property, you feel bad about it. And if an action does not cause anyone to feel bad, there can be nothing wrong about it. If the same ancient text says that God commanded us not to make any images of either humans or animals (Exodus 20:4), but I enjoy sculpting such figures, and I don’t harm anyone in the process – then what could possibly be wrong with it?
The same logic dominates current debates on homosexuality. If two adult men enjoy having sex with one another, and they don’t harm anyone while doing so, why should it be wrong, and why should we outlaw it? It is a private
“matter between these two men, and they are free to decide about it according to their inner feelings. In the Middle Ages, if two men confessed to a
”
”
Yuval Noah Harari (Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow)
“
Generally speaking a view of the available economic systems
that have been tested historically must acknowledge the immense
power of capitalism to generate living standards food housing
education the amenities to a degree unprecedented in human
civilization. The benefits of such a system while occasionally
random and unpredictable with periods of undeniable stress
and misery depression starvation and degradation are
inevitably distributed to a greater and greater percentage
of the population. The periods of economic stability also
ensure a greater degree of popular political freedom
and among the industrial Western democracies today despite
occasional suppression of free speech quashing of dissent
corruption of public officials and despite the tendency of
legislation to serve the interests of the ruling business
oligarchy the poisoning of the air water the chemical adulteration
of food the obscene development of hideous weaponry the
increased costs of simple survival the waste of human resources
the ruin of cities the servitude of backward foreign populations
the standards of life under capitalism by any criterion are
far greater than under state socialism in whatever forms
it is found British Swedish Cuban Soviet or Chinese. Thus
the good that fierce advocacy of personal wealth accomplishes
in the historical run of things outweighs the bad. And while
we may not admire always the personal motives of our business
leaders we can appreciate the inevitable percolation of the
good life as it comes down through our native American soil.
You cannot observe the bounteous beauty of our county nor take
pleasure in its most ordinary institutions in peace and safety
without acknowledging the extraordinary achievement of
American civilization. There are no Japanese bandits lying
in wait on the Tokaidoways after all. Drive down the
turnpike past the pretty painted pipes of the oil refineries
and no one will hurt you.
”
”
E.L. Doctorow
“
As Chafer said, long ago, “If men go to perdition it will be because every possible mercy from God has been resisted.”3 I cannot conceive of a worse punishment than knowing that God has made a way to save your soul, that you have refused that provision, and that neither you nor a loving God can do anything to mediate your judgment. In society, people commonly believe God to be a merciful one, but they misunderstand his mercy, thinking that justice is a balance scale, and if their good works do not quite outweigh their bad works, God will somehow fudge the scale with his thumb. There is no merciful thumb of God; we have been weighed and found wanting, and there remains no salvation other than that which God has wrought. “One is either a justified covenant-keeper in Christ or a condemned covenant-breaker in Adam.”4 The choice cannot be put off, for in putting it off, is not one already making a choice?
”
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Patrick Davis (Because You Asked, 2)
“
THE WEIGHT OF ONE FEATHER
Given.
Many fear Death
Because they already
Feel ridden with sin,
But no man
On this earth
Is filled with only
White light
Within.
Have more faith
In our Maker,
For our souls
And minds
Were created by
Him.
Just remember that,
When your deeds
Are measured
By the scale --
Your good deeds
Must outweigh
The bad,
And your heart must be
Lighter than the weight of
One feather
To win.
THE WEIGHT OF ONE FEATHER by Suzy Kassem
”
”
Suzy Kassem (Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem)
“
When you weigh the joy against the suffering, it’s just not worth it. The bad outweighs the good and the good is a lie. Molecules trick each other into making more molecules and you call it Love. Someone hacks your brain with prose or oratory, reprograms you with sights and sounds and instead of feeling used you feel inspired. The boot stops kicking you in the face for a while and you call it happiness. You were all so desperate. So needy. Addicts who assumed that anything you craved so much just had to be good, without ever stopping to wonder why you were built that way in the first place. Whether the program itself was even worth running.
”
”
Jonathan Strahan (Infinity's End)
“
We are not disgusted by markets in kidneys, nor by markets in sex, drugs, pornography, reading, or any of a thousand other markets. We are, instead, disgusted by the fact that people are disgusted by these markets, and fail to overcome that disgust when presented with sufficient evidence that the good outweighs the bad, that a market would save or improve our lives, that we can preserve gift relationships within a market, that sacred things can be sold without undermining or challenging their sacred status.
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”
Jason Brennan (Markets without Limits: Moral Virtues and Commercial Interests)
“
It was over. The lazy days on Devil’s Hill, the morning breakfasts with my little monster and my Lionesses in the Cafaeteria, the Mindys at my constant beck and call, the long evenings of Pitball training and the endless runs in the Iron Wood. I’d loved Aurora Academy with my whole heart, it had been my second home and the place I’d found my mate. Through all the bad we’d faced together, there had been so much good to outweigh it in the end and I wanted to win this tournament not just for me, but for that school. Because it deserved the funding, it deserved to be taken notice of and the kids within it deserved to be seen. So I’d win this thing for Aurora and give her a parting gift that would hopefully give the kids of Alestria a chance to be someone in this ruthless kingdom.
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”
Caroline Peckham (Warrior Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac, #5))
“
God’s Law is redemptive only in Christ’s keeping it in our behalf so that he and he alone might secure our salvation. Salvation is and always has been by grace through faith alone. Modern Judaism and Islam, along with liberal Christianity, are moralistic religions which promise salvation to those whose good deeds outweigh their bad. Biblical Christianity is a redemptive religion which promises to those who truly believe in Christ that they will be saved by his redemptive work alone.
”
”
Kenneth L. Gentry Jr. (God's Law Made Easy)
“
The good things outweigh the bad in my life," Adiron says finally. "So those are the ones I focus on.
”
”
Ruby Dixon (Corsairs: Adiron (Corsair Brothers, #1))
“
Let’s not be angry at good people,” Seneca writes in “On Anger.” Today, when you find yourself getting upset at someone you love, remind yourself that their positive traits far outweigh whatever is bothering you in the moment. Remind yourself that yelling doesn’t make them hear you better. Remind yourself that they probably know they messed up and probably feel bad enough already. Remind yourself how small they are. Remind yourself how good they are.
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Ryan Holiday (The Daily Dad: 366 Meditations on Parenting, Love, and Raising Great Kids)
“
If the good memories outweigh the bad, you shouldn’t want to forget the past.
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”
J.T. Geissinger (Midnight Valentine)
“
Someone once told me that when you die every deed you ever committed, whether on behalf of good or bad is represented in the form of pebbles. Black ones for every deed done in the name of evil, white ones for every act of good. The pebbles are weighed upon a great scale, and if the white stones outweigh the black then your soul is granted peace.”
He opens one bleary eye. “What’s the punishment for too many black acts?”
“There is no worse punishment than standing on the threshold of heaven alone.
”
”
Ellis Adler
“
Although some of Warhol’s efforts were unsuccessful, including being turned down by Tanager Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art (to which he had attempted to donate a drawing of a shoe), the good outweighed the bad.
”
”
Charles River Editors (American Legends: The Life of Andy Warhol)
“
Sometimes you say things out of emotion and anger to the ones you love the most. When it drives them away, all you can do is change and hope for them to remember the good in you that always outweighs the bad.
”
”
Lynn R. Davis (Deliver Me From Negative Emotions: Emotional Mastery & Self Help for Christians Struggling With Controlling Their Negative Feelings (Negative Self Talk Book 2))
“
What kind of books sell in this genre? What are the characteristics of those books that sell? • What kinds of books fail in this genre? What are the characteristics of those books that fail? • How many of the good characteristics does this book have? How many of the bad characteristics? If we assume that almost no book is perfect, how can we judge whether the good characteristics outweigh the bad? • Are there ways to work on the weak points, even if we can’t fix them entirely? PRACTICING
”
”
Philip Mudd (The HEAD Game: High-Efficiency Analytic Decision Making and the Art of Solving Complex Problems Quickly)
“
Clues. Sometimes we get involved with things that have both advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes the bad points outweigh (or outwit) the good, and we choose to ignore the negatives. Our subconscious won’t let us get away with that. Remember, the mind will lie, the body cannot! * * * Getting Better by Getting It Together As we’ve see, your state of health depends on many constantly changing conditions. When you experience an illness or accident, it is usually because an imbalance between your inner and outer worlds has triggered a body problem. So you must work backwards: begin by looking at the body problem for clues to the cause of the imbalance, then take the steps necessary to restore your inner alignment.
”
”
Rochelle Gordon (Body Talk: Why You Really Get Sick and Why It Need Never Happen Again)
“
You just replace your last memory—a bad one—with a new one—a good one—and you keep doing that until the initial one no longer outweighs the replacement.
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout (From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash, #1))
“
But I hope that in the long run, I will be remembered for the good things I did that outweighed the bad.
”
”
Tommy Murray (Fathers, Sons, and the Holy Ghosts of Baseball)
“
Did this one thing wipe everything else out?
That was the danger. Not that betrayals happened, not that cruel things happened, but that they could outweigh all the good. That we could forget the good and only remember the bad.
”
”
Louise Penny (Bury Your Dead (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #6))
“
You can't change what happened in there. Just like you can't change the fact that the courtyard used to give you peace. You just replace your last memory, a bad one with a new one, a good one, and you keep doing that until the initial one no longer outweighs the replacement
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout
“
That was a diagnostic spell. You want the good news or the bad news?” Whenever anybody asks that question, they’re stalling because the badness of the bad news always outweighs the goodness of the good.
”
”
Stephen Blackmoore (Ghost Money (Eric Carter, #5))
“
He stepped closer, dipping his chin. “You can’t change what happened in there. Just like you can’t change the fact that the courtyard used to give you peace. You just replace your last memory—a bad one—with a new one—a good one—and you keep doing that until the initial one no longer outweighs the replacement.
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout (From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash, #1))
“
(Your good will outweigh your bad & your bad will outweigh your good).
There are those; who are rude & disrespectful sometimes, but show love to others. But you have those people who turn their noses up & look down on people all their life,
the ones who are rude & disrespectful sometimes, but show love to others, they have a better chance of getting into heaven; than those people who’ve turned their noses up to others, who’ve been thinking they’re better than other's all of their life.
"Your good will outweigh your bad & you’re bad will outweigh your good".
-MillYentei Orion⋆
”
”
Deshawn Yeldell
“
(You’re good will outweigh your bad & you’re bad will outweigh you’re good).
There are those who are rude & disrespectful sometimes, but show love to others. You have those people who turn their noses up & look down at other people, all their life as well,
The ones who are rude & disrespectful sometimes, but show love to others, they have better chance of getting into heaven than those people who turn their noses up to others; thinking they are better than other's.
"You’re good will outweigh your bad & you’re bad will outweigh you’re good".
-MillYentei Orion⋆
”
”
Deshawn Yeldell
“
It would be an act of the most brazen fraud to weigh the paltry social amenities provided during the colonial epoch against the exploitation, and to arrive at the conclusion that the good outweighed the bad.
”
”
Walter Rodney (How Europe Underdeveloped Africa)
“
It used to be a place of refuge,' he said. 'Now, it's become a place of nightmares. But it can only stay that way if you let it.'
'If I let it? How do I change the fact that Rylan died out there?'
'You don't.'
I stared up at him. 'I'm not following where you're going with this.'
He stepped closer, dipping his chin. 'You can't change what happened in there. Just like you can't change the fact that the courtyard ued to give you peace. You just replace your last memory- a bad one- with a new one- a good one- and you keep doing that until the initial one no longer outweighs the replacement.'
I opened my mouth, but then I really thought about what he'd said. My gaze travelled to the darkness beyond the door. What he's said actually made sense. 'You make it sound so easy.'
'It's not. It's hard and uncomfortable, but it works.' He extended his bare hand, and I looked down, staring at it as if a dangerous animal rested in his palm- a fluffy, cute one that I wanted to pet. 'And you won't be alone. I'll be there with you, and not just watching over you.
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout (From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash, #1))
“
there is no true timeline for grief. It was always one step forward, two weeks wallowing and cussing the universe back. But, with time, the good days had begun to outweigh the bad.
”
”
Aly Martinez (From the Embers)
“
craftsman approach to tool selection stands in opposition to the any-benefit approach. Whereas the any-benefit mind-set identifies any potential positive impact as justification for using a tool, the craftsman variant requires that these positive impacts affect factors at the core of what’s important to you and that they outweigh the negatives. Even though the craftsman approach rejects the simplicity of the any-benefit approach, it doesn’t ignore the benefits that currently drive people to network tools, or make any advance proclamations about what’s “good” or “bad” technology: It simply asks that you give any particular network tool the same type of measured, nuanced accounting that tools in other trades have been subjected to throughout the history of skilled labor.
”
”
Cal Newport (Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World)
“
Denotation means the word’s “actual” or “dictionary” meaning. When, in addition to this “actual” meaning, a word implies or suggests something further, the things it implies or suggests are its connotations. These connotative or implied or associated meanings frequently hold overtones of approval or disapproval; and too often, the overtones outweigh the word’s “actual” meaning. Take a word like propaganda. In simplest terms, it denotes information, put forth in a systematic effort to spread opinions or beliefs. Thus, whether it’s classed as good or bad should depend on whether you agree or disagree with the opinions or beliefs in question.
”
”
Dwight V. Swain (Techniques of the Selling Writer)
“
He kept returning to the fact that at least he’d been there; for him the good outweighed the bad and for me the bad was still worthy of his repentance.
”
”
Lilly Dancyger (Burn It Down: Women Writing about Anger)
“
If the good outweighs the bad, then you should stick with what you have. But, if the bad outweighs the good, then you’ve stayed longer than you should.
”
”
Natalia Uva
“
because maybe if you write an entire poem on self-loathing, just to say something nice in the very last line, that will balance out everything else. (we both know that will not balance out everything else.) but sometimes it’s nice to pretend. to hope a bit of good will outweigh the bad. to believe changing one note in the final chord will make them forget they were ever in a minor key at all.
”
”
Caroline Kaufman (When the World Didn't End)
“
Live for today, but remain hung up on the past. That's the real hypocrisy. Collecting good memories to outweigh the bad, and live in them whenever necessary.
”
”
Jason Daniel Chaplin (The Savage Romantics)
“
Habits are like the atoms of our lives. Each one is a fundamental unit that contributes to your overall improvement. At first, these tiny routines seem insignificant, but soon they build on each other and fuel bigger wins that multiply to a degree that far outweighs the cost of their initial investment. They are both small and mighty. This is the meaning of the phrase atomic habits—a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do, but also the source of incredible power; a component of the system of compound growth.
”
”
James Clear (Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones)
“
Everyone has a demon or two, Stevie. You just gotta learn how to live with them and find other people who think all your good parts outweigh the bad.
”
”
Helena Hunting (A Favor for a Favor (All In, #2))
“
The bad memories outweigh the good, by far, but they don't hurt as much anymore. I've dealt with them. I understand them.
”
”
Bobby Hall (This Bright Future: A Memoir)
“
Yes, there are dark forces, but there are also good forces. Um… paranoia… to… solely concentrate on just the dark forces is… negative and is… self-destructive. It is… OK to be cautious… but it is not good to be paranoid. It is OK to… seek the truth, but it is… not good… to concentrate on… just the bad. There is good; there is bad. And yes, right now… bad seems to outweigh the good… as far as the human race is concerned, but...(slowly) Stan’s words… the pendulum swings both ways. DON M: Well, I’m confident that the good will win over the bad, but it is a fact that there is a criminal element in control of governments, in control of the currency, in control of universities, in control of the media… GRANDPA: We understand this. We know this. Just— DON M: So, it’s a fact; it’s truth. GRANDPA: It is true, but… to concentrate solely on this is unhealthy. It is unhealthy from… it is unhealthy for humans mentally. It’s good to be wary, but… to a point it becomes an obsession… and you cannot concentrate on...what your real goals should be… and what your gifts are.
”
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Stan Romanek (The Orion Regressions)
“
must accept that there will be things in life that are not good, but they are outweighed by the good things. If there were no bad, we would not appreciate the wonders that life has to offer. There will be fear, but you must not let it win.
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Ruby Dixon (Barbarian's Prize (Ice Planet Barbarians, #5))