I don’t think good people exist.
Not that people don’t do good. Of course we do, sometimes a lot of it. I mean, I don’t think anyone is a good person in the sense usually intended by the phrase. If I’m not mistaken, the phrase “good person” (used for example in a sentence such as “I know Kyle did some bad things, but he was generally a good person”) usually has the following definition:
good person. n. A person who, because the deeds he has done that benefit humanity (and nature, somewhat) outweigh those that have done it harm, is or ought to be justified by the ultimate moral standard of measurement in the universe (what or whoever that may be).
This definition carries two presuppositions which I accept, and two which I challenge. I accept that (1) there is a standard by which good can be evaluated, and (2) it is important for a person to be justified by this standard. I challenge that (1) the moral standard is (chiefly) concerned with measuring deeds and (2) the criterion for measuring deeds is (chiefly) their effect on humanity. Here’s why.
I don’t believe that it is possible for a person to be justified (according to the ultimate moral standard of measurement implicit in any value judgment about goodness) based on the deeds that they have done.
Scales vs. perfect. I have done good things most of the time and bad things only some of the time.
A standard is dependent on an authority. Imagine that an American is driving on the Audubon and a car flies past at 140 mph. Although he might feel that were unsafe, and demand that the car slow down to 70 mph like his used to, he could have no basis for this demand, because there is no speed limit on the Audubon. The U.S. Department of Transportation has no jurisdiction there.
God is the authority that issues the moral standard, the sole member of the Universal Department of Morality. He is the creator of all people, and he defines and himself epitomizes justice, love, and every standard we expect from people.
Gratitude is a oosture of the heart.
God is concerned not only with what we do, but with who we are, because our nature is the wellspring of our deeds. A good doctor is concerned not with the symptoms but with an accurate diagnosis. A good psychologist is concerned not with the behavioral patterns but with the beliefs and perceptions that generate them. A good deity is concerned not with whether we act good, but whether we are good. God sees and cares about the root.
God alone is good.
God exists, and we were created by him. He created us to relate to him, to be in relationship with him. Our chief purpose is to be the recipients of his love and grace and justice, and in receiving them, to delight deeply in him, and in delighting in him, to be resonating chambers of the songs of praise in his radiance and beauty and strength. We are the receivers, not the doers. We are the moon, He is the sun. He is the source of goodness.
Human goodness is response to God’s goodness.
What is a good deed, then? Any human deed dipped in the enjoyment and value of God. Any deed of love or grace or justice that gives him credit, that cites him in a footnote. “This goodness made possible by God.” Why? Because actions that manifest an enjoyment of God above all else amplify and magnify his goodness. We bring God’s goodness into observable reality in our hearts, voices, hands, and feet, whenever we wash the dishes in an attitude of thankfulness to God, go on a walk to marvel at his creation, or serve soup at a homeless shelter to echo his love for the helpless. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him, and a good deed is a deed that shows that. Turning down a work opportunity that would compromise your conscience, trusting God instead to handle your success, in light of his goodwill and generosity – that shows “God > money” in your heart, and thus, in your little portion of reality, God is made to be as good as he is.
The “good person” mentality makes me central.
The good person definition above supposes that good deeds elicit justice, love, or grace upon the doer. I did these deeds, therefore I am entitled to something. I have earned a huge heap of brownie points with the powers that be, so now there’s no way they can’t approve of me. The problem with such thinking is in the subtlety of this sentence: Because I did this good thing, I am good. This raises the self to a position of entitlement, where God needs to pay some approval. You owe me, God. God wouldn’t dare punish me, because I am good, and he has to However, in thinking “I am good,” one thinks that he is the doer, and God the receiver, of a good thing.
If a delight and enjoyment of God is the ultimate good stemming from our ultimate purpose, then no deed that is not done in response to God’s love can be a good deed in the greatest sense–and every deed that is a response to God’s love, is good. The adventures of Odysseus were good inasmuch as they took him westward. God is the ultimate satisfaction, the lack of him is the gnawing hunger for “something more” that besets all of literature’s protagonists. On what other basis can we evaluate boon or bane? Good deeds are deeds springing from the root of faith.
Can we bring
Ben Taylor 