I Peter 2:1-3 ~ The Spiritual Growth of Salvation

Excerpt:

The Hebrew word for good is tov, which is used in all of creation. When something is tov it means it is functioning according to its created purpose. But ra in Hebrew means dysfunction, that is, to not function according to a designed purpose. So the Hebrew concept of evil does not mean to do bad things; it means to not function according to one's created purpose. And God created us for Him. When I am functioning for myself and according to myself, it is called evil. This word ra is the root word for all malice (in verse 1). When we are causing adversity for other people we are functioning in a way that is not according to our created purpose.