Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil

For in the gospel a righteousness from God is being revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last... - Romans 1:17

The three wise monkeys, Speak No Evil, See No Evil, and Hear No Evil, are an Eastern symbol that represents a philosophy which says we should not dwell on evil thoughts. Thus, we should avoid speaking evil, seeing evil, or hearing evil. This is wise advice for those who wish to live a righteous and holy life.

However pious this may sound, Western philosophy has used the symbol of the monkeys to signify a tolerance of evil. To say that you speak no evil, see no evil, and hear no evil avoids acknowledging their existence in this world and the injustices that regularly occur. The only way to truthfully avoid evil is to remove yourself from normal interactions with the world as it exists.

In the gospel a righteousness from God is being revealed. The difference between Eastern philosophy and Christian doctrine is that the East sees righteousness as being a peace that you create within yourself. You put aside all of your covetous desires and focus simply on appreciating the universe as it continues to tic away into eternity. Christian doctrine is significantly different, in this regard.

Christian doctrine teaches that righteousness is not earned but credited. A person living in the world cannot be deemed righteous by his or her own doing. Rather, the righteousness of Jesus Christ is acknowledged and our shortcomings are confessed. Thus, the peace that Christians confess is the revelation from God that as we serve Him, we fall short in achieving perfect righteousness. But, it is through Jesus' righteousness that we are justified in the eyes of God.

It was perfectly displayed when Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. When Jesus went to wash his disciple Peter's feet, Peter refused. Peter would not allow Him to wash his feet. Jesus said that he must allow it to happen if he wanted to be with Him. Peter then said, "then wash my whole body, not just my feet." Jesus then said, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet" (John 13:10). In other words, Peter was already clean because Jesus made him clean. But, even though we are clean, as we serve, our feet are soiled as we walk imperfectly through the muck of the world. So it is not our righteousness that makes us clean, but Jesus' continual cleansing of our unrighteousness. This means that we must have faith and allow Jesus to cleanse us, if we want any part with Him.

For in the Gospel, a righteousness from God is being revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last...