I've often thought this myself that we need the darker forces in our lives to push us to wake up and discover who we really are. Otherwise we would probably just live a very complacent life without finding out who we are at a deeper level and what we feel passionate about. When we look with this approach we can then thank those 'evil things' for the part they played in causing us to wake up and I guess then we don't really perceive them as evil anymore but rather as motivators on our journey.Good question!!

Agreed.

   
 INT.  PRESIDENTIAL SUITE (MATRIX) - DAY

    Agent Smith stands in the bedroon of the enormous suite,
    staring out the windows at the city, below, shimmering
    with brilliant sunlight.

    				AGENT SMITH
    		Have you ever stood and stared at
    		it, Morpheus?  Marveled at its
    		beauty.  Its genius.  Billions of
    		people just living out their 
    		lives... oblivious.

    		Did you know that the first Matrix
    		was designed to be a perfect human
    		world?  Where none suffered, where
    		everyone would be happy.  It was a
    		disaster.  No one would accept the
    		program.  Entire crops were lost.

    		Some believed we lacked the
    		programming language to describe
    		your perfect world.  But I believe
    		that, as a species, human beings
    		define their reality through
    		suffering and misery.

I asked for peace and harmony and was initially bored, so I asked for drama and really did not like that! Now, I can find it absolutely thrilling to lie on my back and look at the sun, the clouds, or the moon and stars. I saw great beauty, God, if you will in majestic sights like the Grand Canyon, or the Paris Opera House. Now I can see Him in a blade of grass.

I see no need for evil. Evil. to me, is pinching off our connection with God.

We are here for contrast. Can you define contrast as something about good and evil? Or there just good and better? I vote for the latter!

Humans need problems to solve. Without those problems, there's nothing to exercise the mind and body with. If you define good and bad as what is desired and not desired in your life, there is definitely plenty to chew on.

This is why perfection can be such a trap. If you define perfection as the absence of bad, evil or the undesired, then what happens when you arrive? Is perfection boring? Is Heaven dull?

From Illusions, the Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach:

"I'm not sure I want to be perfect and finished. Talk about boredom."

"Look at the sky," he said, and it was such a quick subject-change that
I looked at the sky. There was some broken cirrus, way up high, the first bit
of moonlight silvering the edges.

"Pretty sky," I said.

"It is a perfect sky?"

"Well, it's always a perfect sky, Don."

"Are you telling me that even though it's changing every second, the sky
is always a perfect sky?"

"Gee, I'm smart. Yes!"

"And the sea is always a perfect sea, and it's always changing, too," he
said. "If perfection is stagnation, then heaven is a swamp! And the Is ain't
hardly no swamp-cookie."

Very good question Stingray. And most definitely is the answer.

It is actually a past bad experience in my life that has steered me towards spirituality which then allowed me to understand the reason we are on this planet and the secrets to living a fulfiling life. Without having gone through such an experience, I would probably still be looking for the meaning to life.

Also, it is the contrast in life that allows us to have preferences and as a result launch desires as to what we want to manifest in our existence. In other words, if there were not things that we did not like around us which I would refer to as evil things, then we would not know what we prefer as we would not know any better. It is indeed the evil things in life that allows us to desire for better things for a better and happier existence.

Would Jesus have become so effective without Judas?

(I have a sneaking suspicion that if we met Judas we might be pleasantly surprised. It was said that he thought he was doing what he thought was the right thing for Jesus (saving him for himself) and was horrified when he saw the unexpected consequences of his action - hence his suicide. How many well meaning actions of our own do we see have unintended consequences?)

Excellent question Stingray!

Maybe we can give a thought to whether the world is better now than before the two world wars.

Interesting question. When it comes to good an evil where does good end and evil begin, or vice versa.

Is it evil to kill someone?

What about if you kill them in a car accident because you were drunk?

What if you weren't drunk, but the road was icy and you were driving safely?

What if you, the driver, were driving very cautiously at night and the pedestrian, whom you killed, wasn't looking and ran out into the middle of the road and got run down?

What if the pedestrian was playing a stupid game of chicken and got cuaght out?

What if teh pedestrian was trying to commit suicide?

Where does evil start and good end? Is there such a thing, or is everything on a continuum, and we as human beings, not as spiritual beings have decided.

Looking at humanity, you see that to do Good, great evil had/have to be done. And to do Evil, great good was/is being done. All for our own benefit.

Here is to all the Dark Forces on the planet (from within and without!) Love you

namaste

evil is not an absolute, more like a value judgement;
who is determining the scale

There are many wonderful answers here, but I couldn't help add my opinion as well. I think evil is absolutely our best friend.

Sometimes the resistance we have can be so strong, that any lesser emotion is not enough to fuel a change within us. I know that every time I have been motivated to work on my vibration, it has always been because something bad has happened, or I am reacting strongly to bad things outside my control. Maybe once I am stable on a higher vibration, I will be more motivated from that place!

I think for those of us on this journey, who are unable to break limiting patterns, and change limiting beliefs, Evil is an ally. And of course, once you begin to see evil as an ally, it somehow no longer feels ....evil!

There is a big difference between evil things and some negative energy force that you might have to over come to understand and appreciate the nice and good things in life.

Now true if you live where you always got everything you ever thought you wanted you would be very unhappy and you would always be searching for something of what you don't know. But I always call that missing God within our lives that let us know we need to help others. For if you have everything in life and you reach out there and help others than you most likely will feel good for the joy you have place upon their faces.

In my opinion there is nothing good about evil now we can have some hardships, some down moments, some unhappiness to remind us how nice it is to feel good, to be happy, and what makes us happy and safe. But not pure evil it is very bad for us, it can cause us to lose our soul if we are not careful, and Eve and Adam brought that into the world.

But because of our free will and our choices we make all we need is enough of the correct data to make wise choices for us and to become one with the Lord Jesus.

You can contrast two events and label them as bad or good in comparison to each other. Therefore, one is less good than another. Eventually, you will come across, in comparison and in scale, one extreme event to another extreme event. So much in extreme contrast that one is labeled evil (bad) and the other labeled love (good). Actually, then, there really isn't any evil except to what it is compared to. Unfortunately, or fortunately, yes it takes some event to happen to compare with another event to become aware of something better or more good. Which, hopefully brings us closer to a life and character that is perceived as all good. Helen Wilmans makes a great comment on this subject.

Don't overcomplicate things. While it's nice to have a different perspective over things...

evil is an enemy

Not a friend. It's that simple.

When you play soccer, or any game, with your friend, that person becomes your enemy in the game, and you the other enemy. To be able to "play" life we need enemies, and "evil" is just one enemy in the game of life.

And it's not "most people won't do anything". Every single one of us will only do anything when confronted by it.

Humans are referred to as intelligent beings, and today intelligence rank as the number one focus to education, modern technology, and science. With that being said, we have come a long ways, and we still have a long ways to go, since learning is continuous. But today we are much wiser, and intelligent. Do we learn from our mistakes, and do our mistakes help us to make more constructive decisions? In some cases yes, in others no! So although evil is very much a part of our every day challenge in life, we control our own destiny. Now do we want to give evil the power to control us, or do we want to send the dark forces packing?

Evil is not my best friend, and although we are all part good, and part evil at the same time, I will not allow evil to control me, because evil will always be my worst enemy. Nothing good comes out of anything evil, and that is a known fact. Good is the source of good, and evil is the source of evil, and cannot be compared.

We are living in a changing world, and everything is changing constantly. So it is evident, we have to change with the times for better, or for worst. Although, we may not have a choice, if the worst comes to the worst, we will have to adapt to our situation, but that does not mean it will always remain the same. Evil does not have lasting power; it cannot hold onto its position indefinite; because something good will come along, and take over, and put evil out of business. Evil has no power, except the power you give to it, and when you are ready to use your good powers, evil will fade away into its darkness, and will sit still to strike again, but it has no power over the good of this world!

I'm terrified of evil or bad things that might happen to me, but when they do happen, beside pain they also bring enlightenment. Sometimes.

One good way to think or feel about them is by understanding advaita or non-duality. Yes there is good and there is evil, they are definitely different from each other, but they are also inseparable from each other.

My answer is that evil is a terrifying bully that unbeknownst to us, makes us stronger. Paraphrasing Anthony Robbins in his TED talk, "we don't like problems, but we need them."

what is evil? and what is good? are they not opposite pole? and who does evil or good thing? and who is the one that view the evil or good things?

as for problem there is solution to every problems one only need to find it.

in this world some confuse evil for good and good for evil. maybe those that do this still need to learn and grow so that they do not make more evil and problem for them self and other. going in to extreme bring the extreme opposite could we say that the scale with two opposite pole is out of balance?

to answer your question: is evil our best friend? nope evil is not our best friend since evil is made in ignorance by confuse individual that are lost in their own darkness.

The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when [thine eye] is evil, thy body also [is] full of darkness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6eTbhHE0jM

"And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness."

Genesis 1:4 NKJB

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."

1 John 1:5 ESV

The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

the truth will set you free.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R5VwxvUUvI

Let there be light, be the light that you can be, experience and enjoy.

Great question but I believe evil is live(ing) backwards. It can never be a friend only an enemy.

Evil is the voice that tells you the ground 'over there' is firm when actually it's quicksand. Sure you can choose to see that as 'a good thing' but I've yet to hear anyone say that their ambition is to sink into quicksand...

Evil is deceptive. It doesn't give anything but takes away everything. It is the bleak despair that murks up the fresh, invigorating sunlight of life.

Instead of viewing evil as 'only doing its job', what we can aim for is personal evolution so that we can see through the disguise of evil.

Can it be that human beings - so incredible we can experience ourselves as spiritual, physical and emotional beings - must 'suffer' in order to prove our worth?? Must people be hurt, insulted, degraded, attacked, abandoned and hated in order for them to know their humanity?? That feels to me very much like the sort of 'truth' that insisted God was angry because people searched for enlightenment. It is fair to say that in order to know heaven we have to first know hell. But it is possible to be in a hell and to still have a light within that guides towards a way out.

Perhaps the problem is that we have lost the ability to see how incredible we are. We are living miracles. Look what we can do and that's only using a fraction of our brain and mental power.

In aeons to come we may become beings of pure light.

I hope we make it but we might not do if we believe that the only way to redemption/evolution is through suffering.

We must realise that if we're to save ourselves we have to be free of evil and free from suffering. Suffering creates pain and each bit of pain(ful energy) is absorbed and passed on by and to someone else. We must break this cycle.

Our planet is an Eden and if we could agree not to hurt ourselves or each other, we would have heaven on earth.

Semantics!!! Argggh!

I really hate the word "evil". There is pure evil sometimes, but more often, it can be called, "conflict".

Any movie, for example, requires some kind of conflict to move through the plot and keep the attention of the audience. A good hero looks better with a bad villain to defeat. This is the two sides of life- the yin and yang. We tolerate this villain so long as our hero defeats him in the end. Look at Darth Vader; he was/is such a great villain that he kept us enthralled through more than three movies. He even has his own theme song...

Evolution of our species radically involved conflict. We made weapons to hunt, and then to advance over the less able of the species. But we used clubs and gathering to survive, and the human who could struggle far and wide to find nourishment, survived. The conflict rose up every day, and humankind was born in it. It formed us, and the bad side of this is our urge to war and conquer today- and it is increasingly unnecessary.

But is it "evil" that we need to grow, or is it conflict? This is a semantic argument... And I feel that conflict is a better word than "evil". And neither is our best friend. I think many people can do with a lot less of whatever-you-want-to-call-it...