Author’s note: If you are new to my blog and are interested in reading the 23.xx series, please first read the 23.01 through 23.09 in order to best get the idea of what I am attempting to communicate. They are built like chapters in a book, one building on the previous one. Consider the points made in each article to help you understand where I am coming from in hopes I can make a connection with you on your spiritual journey.
***
Our belief in our being “good” can be reinforced in many ways.
That is, until you come face-to-face with another person’s challenge about your previously held standard.
For instance, getting married. Need I say more?
Before long, that romantic eternal sense of ‘I am good’ starts getting a dose of humility and just when you thought that was in control, you may have…. a child.
Is there no end to getting humbled?
But even so, for the average person, things are still pretty good and because you spend time with the family and take care of their daily needs. You are surviving, maybe even thriving, and that’s “good”.
If you are not married with children? No problem, you can still manage being “good”, until you encounter a your next disagreement with your manager, an angry customer, a coworker who questioned your actions, the person in the car who belligerently honked at your careless lane change, not to mention getting pulled over by a police officer. We can suffer these little wakeups and temporary setbacks before getting back onto the track of being good again.
When things get even more difficult, in effort to maintain our self-esteem, we might give ourselves the, ‘I am still alive and as long as I can get up, I can stand up’ positive-thinking pep talk. When we succeed, we are good to go, again.
***
MORE YOU ARE GOOD REINFORCEMENTS
Has someone ever asked you:
“I need a ride, can you pick me up?”
“Can you hold my wallet?”
“Can we leave our children with you?”
“Can I confide in you?”
This suggests you are a trustworthy person, being approached by others for help. It’s another reinforcement that you are “good”.
***
GOOD EVIDENCED IN HOW YOU CONDUCT YOUR LIFE
Have you ever personified the following?
“I don’t drink and drive.“
“I’m don’t bully.”
“I attend church.”
“I am not a racist.”
“I do my job well.”
“I give to charity.”
“I help the homeless.”
“I support this [good] cause.”
These statements suggest you are also not a bad person and therefore, reinforce the idea that you are good.
We pay our taxes, we don’t run red lights at midnight on a deserted road, even pull over to help a stranded motorist, an injured bicyclist, give our time to worthy causes – All good, right?
***
WE CAN GO EVEN FURTHER
One may even justify ones lack of shamelessness, regardless of behavior. If one doesn’t feel bad, guilt-free, it must not be bad; then, that must be good also.
All of these little statements imply one is trustworthy, good, maybe even a righteous. If one can go through life and accumulate enough compliments or join a crowd of people affirming their wellness, “I am a good person” is likely to be found on the tip of their tongue
***
WE LIVE IN A RELATIVE MORAL SOCIETY
To emphasize we are an embodiment of rightness and goodness, we can compare ourselves with historical examples of evil tyrants who were responsible for the cruel deaths of millions. Our “little” imperfections will easily stack up on the “good” side and confirm that “we must be good.”
If we adopt enough messaging, even if they are lies, we will settle for that self-appointed truth in the conscious absence of anything to the contrary.
We become comfortable in our own “truth” that we are good. Then secure in our sense of rightness, holding onto those beliefs confirming who we are. This is as natural. Although there are plenty of influences and powers in this world to deceive, produce uncertainty and hopelessness, If we have avoided uncertainty and hopeless, we could very well think we are resilient and as good, even better, than we think we were.
***
WE LIVE IN A WORLD THAT PREYS ON DISSATISFACTION
The Rolling Stones were onto something… “[they] can’t get no [correct grammar].” 🙂
While we hang on to our sense of being good, the world is at work to deny the existence of a Creator or the power of God. The bulk messaging we receive day-after-day and year-after-year does much to distract people with low hanging fruit. Why seek an invisible God when there are so many other options that more easily capture our attention?
Seeking pleasure can become a surrogate for worship, also known by the philosophers as hedonism. Like falling in love, therein lies a fragment of eternity, it is addictive because there’s a bit of truth in it. Although we may never achieve union with the source of pure and real truth, we afford to worship the creation we live in, both the natural and that which was made with human hands.
Unfortunately, we live in a world that is a master of causing one to feel dissatisfied and confused, often to the point we resort to hiding within our reservoir of goodness. Nowadays we get incessant “be dissatisfied” messaging followed by the cure, no matter how superficial, transitory, or depraved it may be.
Thanks to the ubiquitous and disruptive nature of technology, unless you live in the wilderness without a cell phone, you are likely inundated with distracting messaging that you are “not good” enough and send you chasing after the next low hanging fruit in effort to find fulfillment and to be fulfilled, which has also become to mean “good”.
We jump through the world’s hoops, it feels enjoyable, you become the consummate team player, so it must mean we are good, even if it means going along with the crowd; therefore, we are good.
We fall for the trap. That was easy.
The question is, is there an objective and true standard of goodness and how do you meet it?
***
GOD’s STANDARD OF WHAT GOOD IS
Consider God
God, the Creator of the universe, of heaven and earth
God a good, righteous, and morally perfect being
A Holy God
How do we compare and what are the consequences?
Like our innate but imperfect sense of eternity, being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), our creation is not merely in a physical sense. Humans are also endowed with a conscience, a sense of justice, and although our sense of justice is also imperfect, our souls still groan at the awareness of injustices.
In today’s world of mass communication, we can be so saturated. We can become desensitized to corruption, injustice and evil in its many forms.
Our humanity dictates we despise cruelty and what we sense is unjust. We have one of many reactions, depending on our perspective, for instance: sorrow, remorse, shame, guilt or indignation. You may even feel like rejoicing that your enemy has suffered a substantial loss, no matter how cruel the manner execution.
For those who seek justice and believe that breaking the true laws must be punished, go no further; Perfect justice is and will be delivered from a perfect and holy God.
There’s one issue that requires resolution, however.
***
ONLY GOD IS GOOD
You and I may be morally superior to the child molester or the criminal sociopath, or even the many self-aggrandizing saviors of humanity, but when compared to a Holy, morally perfect and Righteous God, we are on the same side of the spectrum as the worst depraved person you can think of.
If this causes you any fear and trepidation, then let fear and trepidation be your ally, like the fear you feel a split second before pulling your hand from the flame before it burns you.
As evidenced through many witnessed accounts in the Bible, God’s person is infinitely off-the-scales of our human ability to be in His presence. He is unspeakably wondrous, in Holiness and Righteousness. He is a God of the Truth and of Justice. He is to a human, so off-the-scales, we would need to take care how our imperfections, the moral depravity that we have within us, makes us like a dry leaf next to the roaring fire of God’s judgment. To be unprepared would be unimaginably terrifying.
Hebrews 10:31 states, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.”
In the context of all the Bible, God’s good character is evidenced from beginning to end and offers what you may consider striking contrasts. Passages like the one that describes how “… the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend,” (Exodus 33:11) is amazing and highlights His distinctly personal, caring, and gentle nature.
Amazement abounds in the Truth of God’s faithfulness to His people, His love for humanity and His utter hate for evil and cruelty of which He will judge. Jesus Christ understood the chasm that separates man from God and sought to help us understand by teaching, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the path to destruction and there are many who go by it.” (Matthew 7:13).
God provided spiritual laws and physical laws to govern creation.
In the encounter with the rich young ruler, who ran up to Jesus and kneeling before Him, asked, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God…” (Mark 10:18A). Jesus, in this example, declares the Truth for what good and righteousness is.
God is Good
Only God is Good
***
CKY
***
Copyright © 2023 ChallenYee.com All Rights Reserved.