PAIN AND TROUBLE

I have noted here before that there are certain words which are frequently used in the Bible which often go undefined for us formerly because we assume we know exactly what they mean already. For instance:

Glory

Love

Holy

Faith

Grace

Here's the one that currently has my attention: Evil.

In Luke 11, Jesus points out that the men in his audience would never even consider giving their children a snake or a scorpion if what they asked for was a piece of bread or an egg. Then he draws a contrast between them and God - they give good gifts to their children even though they are EVIL, how much more will the good Father delight in giving good gifts to His children? (Here, specifically, Jesus has in mind the giving of the Holy Spirit to believers.) 

But it just doesn't sit right that when Jesus uses the word "evil" to describe the fathers in the crowd, He has in mind the same thing we think of as "evil". 

(Though, for a Calvinist, perhaps this just further bolsters your doctrine of total depravity and so you have no problem with it.)

In Greek, the word Jesus employs for "evil" is poneros. Its root is poneo, meaning to work, to toil. Specifically, it points to the pain of hard labor. 

There are two other words often translated as bad or evil in the New Testament:

Kakos, meaning "inner malice" and speaking of "essential character",

And Sapros, meaning "degeneracy from original virtue". 

Either one of those would be closer to what the English word "evil" usually conjures in our minds.

But the word Jesus uses here, poneros, could be translated as "causing pain or trouble". 

Anything done outside of God's will causes pain and trouble - either to ourselves, others, or the world at large. This is our natural - fallen - condition. 

We cause pain and trouble.

Jesus reminds his audience that even in this fallen state, where humans function day to day in such a way as to cause pain and trouble, they still know how to give good gifts to their own children. 

And this realization should give us all confidence that our good heavenly Father, will gladly give good gifts to us.