So be Good for Goodness' Sake!

A SERIES OF ads sponsored by The American Humanist Association ran on buses in Washington D.C. stating: "“Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake." I was reminded of this recently when overhearing a discussion about a new book which argues that the world would be a better place without religion. The premise of this book is simple, people have innately kind hearts and religion only gives people a new difference to fight over. Unfortunately, this is an oversimplification of the facts and has one major flaw; being good is not good enough.

I am utterly intrigued that people believe random acts of kindness is sufficient. This is not to say that kindness is bad, it is simply insufficient. I see no honor or nobility in being nice to someone who has already won your approval. This is instinctive and quite easy to do. Or more eloquently our Lord asks "if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?" Christ came and broke the mold and said, that's great, but it's not enough. You must "Love your enemies, do good to those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you." If you are a Christian, you have heard this more than you wish to remember, but have you ever stopped to think about how novel this concept is? Here you have Christ, a guy from a religion which preaches atonement and reciprocity, saying forgive your debtors and love your enemies. It's craziness!

Now, we know what it means to be better than good, but why should we? Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Okay, that's fine and dandy, but logic deduces the question: why do we love Him? The first epistle of John states "We love Him because He first loved us." What comes to mind now is, what incentive do we have to follow Christ? I mean, His requests are pretty tough! Well He said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Good enough for me, sign me up!

That sure does sound like good insurance, to be self-less and love our enemies for God's sake and reward. Being good for goodness' sake, what does that even mean? Who cares about goodness' sake? Why should people even bother? The truth is, they shouldn't; and they probably don't. Maybe that explains the current state of the world.

So to recap, Christ loved us, we love Him, He asked us to keep His commandments, and therefore He has a reward waiting for us. Want to be perfect? Christ, the Good Shepherd who "gives His life for the sheep" has given us an example and we are to follow it. Why you ask? For His sake.