There is legitimate reason to challenge the notion of being a better person. The concept itself is laden with presuppositions and fascist ideologies. First of all, it places us and our actions on a continuum of bad and good. The concept of such a notion are more than culturally defined beliefs regarding what is and is not good, but have a historical connotation that is rooted in elitism. What is “good”, even within spiritual or moral audiences, is symbolic of achievement. For those that strive for such an ideal, they have unwittingly engaged in a pursuit of status. The second foundational problem with being better is that it alleviates the distinction between the self and the actions of self. To contextualize this within the terminology, it alleviates the distinction between justification and sanctifications. This is not to argue that those who pursue “better” are unable to distinguish between being good and acting good, but rather that it makes it practically impossible to discuss the pursuit of either without implying the other. Finally, and somewhat similar to the first only differentiated by context, the problem of what is good presents itself. Generically, it is fair to assume that for believers good is anything that comes from God or representative of God. However, not only are there more legitimate voices shaping what should be good than Christians, our understanding of what these things are that are symbolic of God which define good have multiple interpretations.
What we, Christians, are left with is a futility to pursue what is better with the intrinsic need to continue to do so. We are motivated by what is best for society, community, the Body of Christ, and personal spiritual fulfillment. We acknowledge the need to be good rather than do good, but shape our understanding of this by the actions it produces in accordance with James, Chapter 2. With the exception of those who have achieved such goodness and learned humility, we place ourselves on the strange continuum of bad and good in relation to others. Simply put, we are doomed to selfishly pursue good until we are able to learn what good truly means. Most dangerously, we instigate this selfish pursuit of good into the culture of Christian education because it is far too dangerous to allow the lesson of what good really means without first ensuring that it occurs within the box of Christianity. As can be expected, few ever learn the humility and perspective needed leaving most to fool themselves into believing that they actually value being good over doing good.
Yet, there is still something within us all that calls us to being better: a better person, better spouse, better employee. I am at that place. Throughout my life I have desired to be a better person than I am, haunted by insecurities and failures. For the most part I have done what most have done. I desire what is better so that I can like myself more and gain greater status while succumbing to the temptation of getting by. While I will continue to pursue achievement and maintain a strong work ethic, the harder work of being a better person is put aside. However, recently I have felt an inner desire to be the type of person I feel destined to be. I acknowledge that there is still some selfishness associated. But I feel redeemed here in the loss of interest in ambition and frustration with what success even means. The better-man that I now desire to be is one connected with my destiny. As I disengage from Christianity I have developed a renewed interest in being the type of Christian that I know I am destined to be. I wrestle with the question now of “why?” I have no need to find my calling anymore. I have no desire to demonstrate my husband and father skills. I have found peace in the meaninglessness of life. So then, why? Many Christianity produced Christians are better than me, so what makes me different?
Those who have struggled with the church or Christianity have had to ask themselves the same questions. I would argue that the typical non-Christian answers to this question are just as unfulfilling as the Christian ones. The truth is that there really is no reason to be a better person. Yes, it glorifies God or betters society or gives more existential meaning, but at the end of the day we all fall short of “good” and all die with the world adjusting just fine. However, there is something in us that draws us to being better. It exists in all of us to with varying degrees and various motivations, but it still exists. But we will never know what better means for each of us until we shed ourselves of the teleological ethic that has shaped our understanding of what better means. And being better will ultimately only be discovered when it is linked to our individual destinies experienced within the shared destiny of community. Perhaps one day I too will have the maturity and humility needed to “be good.” Until then, all I really want to do is be better.
What we, Christians, are left with is a futility to pursue what is better with the intrinsic need to continue to do so. We are motivated by what is best for society, community, the Body of Christ, and personal spiritual fulfillment. We acknowledge the need to be good rather than do good, but shape our understanding of this by the actions it produces in accordance with James, Chapter 2. With the exception of those who have achieved such goodness and learned humility, we place ourselves on the strange continuum of bad and good in relation to others. Simply put, we are doomed to selfishly pursue good until we are able to learn what good truly means. Most dangerously, we instigate this selfish pursuit of good into the culture of Christian education because it is far too dangerous to allow the lesson of what good really means without first ensuring that it occurs within the box of Christianity. As can be expected, few ever learn the humility and perspective needed leaving most to fool themselves into believing that they actually value being good over doing good.
Yet, there is still something within us all that calls us to being better: a better person, better spouse, better employee. I am at that place. Throughout my life I have desired to be a better person than I am, haunted by insecurities and failures. For the most part I have done what most have done. I desire what is better so that I can like myself more and gain greater status while succumbing to the temptation of getting by. While I will continue to pursue achievement and maintain a strong work ethic, the harder work of being a better person is put aside. However, recently I have felt an inner desire to be the type of person I feel destined to be. I acknowledge that there is still some selfishness associated. But I feel redeemed here in the loss of interest in ambition and frustration with what success even means. The better-man that I now desire to be is one connected with my destiny. As I disengage from Christianity I have developed a renewed interest in being the type of Christian that I know I am destined to be. I wrestle with the question now of “why?” I have no need to find my calling anymore. I have no desire to demonstrate my husband and father skills. I have found peace in the meaninglessness of life. So then, why? Many Christianity produced Christians are better than me, so what makes me different?
Those who have struggled with the church or Christianity have had to ask themselves the same questions. I would argue that the typical non-Christian answers to this question are just as unfulfilling as the Christian ones. The truth is that there really is no reason to be a better person. Yes, it glorifies God or betters society or gives more existential meaning, but at the end of the day we all fall short of “good” and all die with the world adjusting just fine. However, there is something in us that draws us to being better. It exists in all of us to with varying degrees and various motivations, but it still exists. But we will never know what better means for each of us until we shed ourselves of the teleological ethic that has shaped our understanding of what better means. And being better will ultimately only be discovered when it is linked to our individual destinies experienced within the shared destiny of community. Perhaps one day I too will have the maturity and humility needed to “be good.” Until then, all I really want to do is be better.
No comments:
Post a Comment