Yin And Yang - How To Deal With It As A Christian

There is a symmetrical beauty in YinYang, and we would be lying if we said there was not. In fact, nature is full of complimentary opposites that are in a constant state of transition. We may hate the night but we know day is coming. We would not appreciate the warmth of our home if it were not for the miserable cold outside. As much as I hate saying this, I suppose we might modify the American adaption of Yin and Yang to the point where it is of some limited value as a teaching tool; provided we do not incorporate the humanistic existentialism errors.

Perhaps we can significantly modify our interpretation of the YinYang symbol and use it to explain the role of good and evil in a Christian’s life. The circle is a person’s life and the two tad poles are our yielding to the influence of good and evil. The white tadpole is our desire to do good and the black tadpole is our desire to do bad. These two forces are in constant conflict. The force of God, which surrounds everything, strongly influences our desire to do good. The forces of Satan influence our desire to do evil. Paul said: “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. … For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. … Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! ” (Romans 7:7-25)

Even though our diagram kind of illustrates Paul’s dilemma, we cannot leave our diagram is this configuration. The reality of Christianity, unlike the Chinese YinYang belief, teaches that there is nothing to be gained by balancing the two forces. The good either defeats the bad or the person is lost for eternity; and, you cannot defeat the bad without Jesus. Thus, we need to make further modifications to our concept of Yin and Yang.

In a Christian adaptation of Yin and Yang, I kind of cringe at saying this, the symbol should show the white tadpole consuming the black tadpole. The struggle between good and bad still exists, but it is not balanced nor is there any desire to balance these two forces. In a Christian version of YinYang, the goal is to reduce the black tadpole as far as possible. Therefore, the goal for ever Christian should be the elimination or minimization of evil in our life. We must acknowledge that the struggle between good and evil still exists, but we do not allow it to be balanced nor is there any desire to balance these two forces. In a Christian version of YinYang, the goal is to increase good at the expense of evil. The good force is strengthened by our increasing our knowledge about God’s will and then applying this knowledge in how we live our life. The evil force is decreased by our denying the desires of the flesh and by our not focusing on self-fulfillment.