Though you’ve likely never heard of Mani, Manichaeism or a Manichaean view of the world is still very popular.

When Manichaeism looks at the world they see an absolute distinction between good and evil. There is no middle ground, nothing in between, just good and evil.

Have you noticed that such a view is still popular? We easily divide people into the “good” and the “evil.” Thinking this way, we commonly think of ourselves as some of the “good,” and all those who differ from us as the “evil.”

Have you seen this way of thinking, this way of assessing people? Maybe you’ve not only seen it but tried it out for yourself. If you haven’t done it yourself, maybe you’ve been the target of Manichaean thinking: Some person or group who thinking of themselves as wholly “good” has cast you, since you differ in some way, as “evil.”

Do you think this is a good way to operate? If you think this way about people, what have been the benefits to you and the people around you? If you’ve been the object of Manichaean assessment by others, has that been beneficial?