The Virtuous Life

    Here’s the age old question: what is good? Is good a universal truth, or defined by how you look at it? In other words, is good dependent on the culture, nation, person; or is the human dependent on good? Some people may see lying as good, in the right context. Others may look at abortion and say hey, that’s not too bad of a thing. Still others might look lustfully at one another, thinking it’s perfectly alright. People seem to have different views on what is ok, acceptable, right, virtuous, and good. But this begs the question, is what they see as ok, acceptable, right, virtuous and good really the right thing? Or do they make it so, to themselves, so they may be allowed to do it without any repercussions?
    They see lying as good in the right context as not to hurt that person, to make them look like someone who they really aren’t, or for selfish gains. They might view abortion as right because it would burden them, it would make the child suffer if they had it, it would just cause her problems. They might look at each other lustfully and think it acceptable because it’s only naturally. Besides, they want to get what they want. Why not twist these things into popular culture so everyone may get away with whatever they desire? Why not, instead of bending to goodness, bend goodness to them? It’s a cunning, selfish, evil move, and we have accomplished it through subtle decisions in society ultimately orchestrated by Satan himself.
    Ok, so maybe there is some truth in that. Maybe people are guilty of that. But what is the truth of the lie which we have ensnared ourselves within? It is that goodness is indeed universal, only that it has been skewed, twisted, bent, and manipulated so much by sin that the world now only looks at it as dependant solely upon how you look at it. What a wretched lie we have been fed, and worse yet greedily ingested!
    If we can understand that good is universal, then what universe has it come out of? The answer is, of course, pure goodness. A synonym that could be used to illustrate pure goodness is God Himself. God is the essence of good, it is His character, His nature, His very being! As Gregory of Nyssa said, “The Divine One is himself the Good whose very nature is goodness.”
    In order to be good, completely, wholly good, is not merely to refrain from lying, cheating, lusting, aborting, killing, or hating; nor is it to be nice, friendly, hospitable, or understanding to someone. It’s not even to love someone, in the barest sense of the term. To be good is to follow wholeheartedly the essence of goodness, to follow God! But how do we do this?
    Gregory of Nyssa said “it is also impossible for those who pursue the life of virtue to attain perfection.” Why? Because we are imperfect, sinful, fallen, and easily swayed away from the very definition of what good even is. We are called “therefore to be perfect, just as your heavenly father is perfect.” This seems so daunting! And it is! We have trouble even understanding what good and bad are! The absolute least we can do to fulfill this command is to fight with every shred of strength contained within us. As Gregory of Nyssa explained, “For the perfection of human nature consists perhaps in its very growth in goodness.”
    Cultivating that relationship of goodness, that relationship with God, is how we truly know what is good, and how to attain it. So what is good and virtuous? God. And how do you live goodly, virtuously? Well, live godly, of course. The terms are synonymous, after all.