I’m No Mother Teresa, Ghandi, or Dali Lama

I’m not going to sit here and try to convince you that I am any kind of saint. Yes, there are times that I do or say things that could be construed as morally bad. I mentioned this in the introduction of my book No Law. I listen to music that has somewhat questionable content. I like to drink beer, and more often than not, more than one. I have a tendency to cuss like a sailor. When I think of moral goodness, up at the top of the list to me are individuals like Jesus, Mother Teresa, Ghandi, and the Dali Lama. The choice really is mine. I can choose to live more like them, but then my actions have to match what I’m saying for the choice that I have made.

If you want to develop moral goodness, identify with people that you associate with moral goodness.

Choose to be Morally Good

Some people seem to have this down, and others not so much. Why is that? Well, it starts with a conscious choice to “be good.” We all have the choice as to whether we are going to eat the candy when mom turns her back. We all have the choice as to whether we are going to tell her when she returns. And the candy probably tasted good when you first put it into your mouth, but after you ate it and heard her coming back into the kitchen and you started planning your reply, it probably didn’t make you feel very good, did it? That is your conscience at work. That is when you definitely know the difference between goodness, and badness. The choice is yours to make, but to achieve moral goodness, you have to make that decision and live by it.

If you want to develop goodness, choose to be morally good.

You Know What It Means to be Good

You know when your mother asked you if you were a good boy or girl? In other words; are you doing what you are supposed to be doing. Let’s put this in context. Let’s say your mom left you in the kitchen next to a big bowl of candy as she needed to tend to something in a different room. When she left the room she said, “stay out of the candy, dinner is almost ready.” You responded, “yes ma’am.” Did you stay out of the candy? Though it is not necessarily morally wrong for you to have some of the candy, you assured her with a “yes ma’am” that you would stay out of the candy. This is not a horrible lie if you got into the candy, but it is still a lie, and as we all know, lying is not morally right. So, I think that we all know what it means to be morally good. And when you know what it means to be morally good, then chances are you get a pit in your stomach when you have been morally bad.

If you want to develop goodness, understand what it means to be morally good, and put it into action.

The Morality of Goodness

I like to think of goodness in two ways: “morally right” and “excellent.” The majority of the verses you will find in the Bible regarding the term goodness will be primarily of the first use of the term, “morally right.” It is my belief that if we are to be morally good, part of that includes being “effort good” as well.