Being Good

A philosophical discussion of what it means to be a good person has to start by analyzing previous answers to the question. One answer stems from the "horizontal" strand of the 10 commandments: to tell the truth, to protect human life, to honor the marriage bond and others' property rights, to honor your father and mother. (These are six of the ten commandments, stated positively instead of negatively.) If a person were to do all these things for their entire life, they would be a good person. Certain scenarios might come up in which doing one of these things would be the wrong choice -- telling the truth to the secret police, for example; or, honoring mothers or fathers who happen to be bank robbers -- but as general rules they can form an adequate basis for individual morality and societal order. Being good by this definition, though, is impossible, especially when motives come into consideration. To go one's whole life without ever lying to one's self would be one standard. Most honest people will admit that they sometimes justify their own actions in their head, often using rationalizations they would never allow in another person. These standards combined are so high that being a good person is impossible for imperfect human beings. That's part of why we need Jesus -- and I haven't even mentioned the first and second commandments, which relate to loving God.