It's All Good!

"As long as you're a good person, that's all that matters."

Is that all that matters?

Really?

Bernie Madoff was a swell guy, by all who knew him. Okay, maybe that's an extreme case, but it really drives me crazy when I hear someone say that, whatever you believe in, as long as you're a "good" person, nothing else matters.

If you have faith in a higher power, or a belief in an afterlife, doesn't it then follow that you believe in a certain set of ideals, laws, dogma, or rituals that are meaningful to you? As a Christian, I believe that faith in God's grace and the resurrection of Christ result in salvation, i.e., eternal life in heaven, in communion with my creator. Does that mean it's okay to a be a jerk for the rest of my days on Earth? I don't think so, but I might have a bad day here and there. If you believe in nothing, (atheism, nihilism, humanism, etc.) is being a good person good enough? If you believe in something, wouldn't you like to share it?

I overheard a few people talking on an airplane a few months ago, and a fellow mentioned that he was a Catholic. He asked the young woman seated next to him if she was religious. She replied that she was SBNR (spiritual, but not religious) and his response was an emphatic, "Well, as long as you're a good person, that's all that matters." I was left wondering if she was thankful for his approval of her spiritual way of life, and endorsement of her personal value system. I was also wondering what kind of Catholic would say such a thing. I'll admit, I don't have it all figured out, but I do have an understanding of faith and that if I say I believe something, I must believe that it is true; at least true enough for me to build my life around it. My guess is that some people don't know how to respond when someone asserts their own opposing belief, or even non-belief. I don't think the guy, (or any of us, for that matter) would have enjoyed the rest of the flight had he doomed the entire row to Hell, while praying the rosary. I can't help but wonder if there wasn't a better way for him, and for all of us, to respond when faced with this situation.

It's perfectly fine to be tolerant. I consider myself very tolerant, but can we take tolerance too far?

Maybe we feel we don't know enough to express our beliefs to others, so we come up with answers like, "You're a Hindu? Oh, that's nice. I enjoyed 'Slumdog Millionaire'." "Wiccan? Oh, you must love camping!"
I enjoy the opportunity to share my faith. What amazing love we can show when we tell others about God's love and grace! Sometimes it is hard to put into words, but we can always share what our faith means to us, and we don't need a graduate degree in theology to do that.