‘My goodness!’ we say. Like ‘Crikey’ and ‘OMG’ it is a minced oath. We may not believe in God but we probably believe in goodness. Pure and absolute goodness is a rare item. It has to show itself in an earthly habitat that is itself compromised. And we have to remember that evil can exist and flourish only with the assistance of virtues such as purposeful determination. This is to be seen in Milton’s fallen angels. Satan urges upon them the study of revenge, knowing it is no light matter. The parasitic nature of evil is seen in criminal gangs who use ingenuity, team-work and thoroughness to achieve their ill-conceived ends. Goodness is no simple matter. To complicate the matter further, evil can simply masquerade as something admirable.
And one common contaminant that distorts goodness is aggression. It is one thing to pursue our own goodness, to form habits of generosity and thoughtfulness, for instance. It is quite another matter to know what is good for other people. And a strong grasp of the virtues that we practise in our following of the Christian faith is often a accompanied by a faulty understanding of what form those virtues should take in our friends and neighbours. Goodness is an assemblage or blend of virtues. It is possible for us to excel in some and not others.
This means that if we are pursuing goodness ourselves, then it may become in our view other people’s duty to think the same way as we do. We become aggressive purveyors of goodness. We may even come to think, if we are in positions of power, that we can coerce others into the paths of righteousness. This is a death-blow for the practice of goodness. And the allusion in the Sermon on the Mount to turning the other cheek and going the extra mile underlines this point. We sometimes have to concede more than justice to those who do us an injury (Matthew 5.39-41). We may have to accept something less than justice for ourselves.
There is a difficult balance to achieve here. If we can see it is inadequate to reduce goodness to harmlessness, to say that we have no-ill-will to others, that we put goodness into practice by refraining from causing injury to our neighbours, we haves not entirely wrapped up the question. Goodness is positive but it is not aggressive. That means that we happily accept that there are times when others know more about goodness than we do. The word here, I think, is humility. It is an attractive element in goodness.
A HELPING HAND FOR HARLOW
The two Harlow, Essex parishes mention in their magazine the practical help they have been offering to families ‘stuck inside the same four walls’ during lockdown. Pre-prepared family meals and money for school uniforms are two of the items. John Bradford’s comment ‘There but for the grace of God go I’ is at the back of their minds as they think of the problems faced by families. Leading the ministry team at the two churches is Martin Harris.
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