This past weekend I watched two absolutely disparate movies. One was Schindler's List, the other was The Expendables. These two films could not be more unalike except for one seemingly insignificant thread.

What could motivate a selfish adulterous reprobate like Oskar Schindler to risk his life, his reputation and his finances for a people who could not repay him?

What prompts a group of jaded war-hardened mercenaries to hazard their lives for a young woman with no discernible benefits or profits?

For that matter why would convicted murderers, thieves and rapists train seeing-eye dogs for blind unknown strangers in the case of the Puppies Behind Bars program?

Why would these same condemned criminals become involved in a Scared Straight program to ensure that unrelated young boys and girls would not follow in their footsteps and make the same mistakes?

Why should they care?

What do they have to gain?

It seems that planted deep in the heart and soul of every human being is a good seed that causes them to perform at least one good act before they depart this earth.

How else would you explain thoroughly vile individuals doing such noteworthy, altruistic things that are so out of keeping with their general lifestyles?

History, legends, myths and literature are replete with examples of ignoble human beings performing noble acts or deeds which belie their natural character or instinct.

Even though scripture says we are born in sin and shaped in iniquity, embedded in our spiritual D.N.A, apparently By God himself, is this kernel of goodness that manifests itself at least once in the life of everyone throughout the ages.

They seem to spring up in the oddest of places and the weirdest of times like oases in the deserts.

We may choose to ignore, deny, delay or discourage this idea of goodness but deep within our very core is this burning desire for good to overcome evil.

Way down deep we really want to see the nice guy finish first and the bad guy reap the fruits of his own labor.

We are fashioned by a God who is good, and our origin is him. Since He is alpha and omega, it stands to reason that ultimately our destiny and desire are linked to his thoughts and characteristics.

So we mourn when evil seems to triumph and cheer when good carries the day.

Remember our horror of the Sandy Hook massacre, a deed so despicable it brought tears to the eyes of President Obama.

Do you recall your elation in the darkened movie theater when Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood would finally give the bad guys their "come uppance?"

Yes! I applauded when Charles Bronson asked the bad guy, the one wearing a chain and the crucifix, before he blew him away,"Do you know Jesus? Well you are going to meet him today."

I was not unhappy when Clint Eastwood, pointing his 44 magnum pistol at the head of a killer remarked, "Go ahead make my day."

Go ahead! Admit it! You were glad when the bad guy lay dead in the street felled by the bullet of the long-suffering hero. Who with the damsel, no longer in distress, rode away in the western sunset to the words "and they lived happily ever after."

Yes! It was twisted and appealed to our basest human instinct, but it also highlighted that inward profound propensity to see the victory of goodness. True happiness and accomplishment can only come from good being in the winner's circle.

Even our fairytales and fables reflect our deep-seated need to see and ensure that good vanquishes evil.

We all have fond memories and a sense of relief and joy when we read how:

Cinderella receives the silver slipper and the hand of the prince despite the worst efforts of the wicked stepmother and sisters, Snow White is awakened from her deep slumber by Prince Charming and declared the fairest in the land to the chagrin of the evil queen. The big bad wolf is slain by the wood cutter before he can consume Little red riding hood.

Let's face it evil is a negative, debilitating emotion that can only breed despair, disharmony, sadness and misery.

Our soul can only be satisfied and made whole when we serve and sacrifice to make things good or better.

Service for the good of others plus sacrifice equal success.

The people mentioned above, for a temporary fleeting moment of joy, to bask in the sunlight of goodness, to refresh their thirsty souls with the waters of kindness, dared to step beyond the vicious self-imposed limitations of their lifestyles and attempt something good, noble, kind, selfless and generous.

I am certain if you would ask every one of them if they had to do something similar over again, would they, to a man the resounding answer would be yes and even more.

There is a poignant scene at the very end of Schindler's List. Oskar Schindler lamented to his bookkeeper that he could have saved one more Jew if he had only given up his expensive jewelry or even his getaway car. Doing good seems to have that effect on people, this unsettled feeling that we have not done enough and regret that we did not or could not do more.

Though evil seems to abound, God is still good and there is still good to be found and to be had.

Father Flanagan, the boys town founder, was so bent on seeing and doing good that he decided, "There is no such thing as a bad boy."

If we nurture, water and cultivate the good seed within our hearts, we too, can experience and understand unfathomable expressions of goodness such as:

"Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame" - Heb 12:2.

Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for the salvation of a lost world.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known."

These were the words of the unrequited lover, Sidney Carton, in a Tale Of Two Cities while on the way to the guillotine so that his beloved and her lover could escape the executioner's blade.

In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, what you may see, hear or encounter, no matter how much one tries to stunt its growth, the innermost intent of every heart and the ultimate end of all things is expressed in the book of Genesis:

And God saw everything he had made and behold it was very good. - Gen 1:31.

And in the final analysis there is nothing bad about that.

V. Knowles is a husband and father with an interest in penning issues that serve to uplift mankind. He melds his love for Classic literature, The Bible and pop culture - as sordid as it may be - into highly relatable columns of truth, faith and justice. Hence the name: Just Thinking. If he's not buried in a book or penning his next column, you may find him pinned to his sectional watching a good old Country and Western flick.