What does it mean to be good?

about 2 hours ago

During Jesus ' ministry, some group of people referred to him as "good master" and his response was striking. He said "No one is good except God". His response placed a concern on what being good actually is. Jesus was considered to be God in flesh, yet didn't assume the acknowledgement of being good, why then do men consider mere men to be good? It's the question I hope to answer. What is the attribute of being good judged on? One's attitude or composure?

The word "good" according to an advanced Oxford dictionary means " Virtuous, upright, religious, pious, righteous, worthy, dutiful". Looking at each word closely, we would realize men do not fit any of them 100%. As much as we try to be morally right, there are areas where our weaknesses come in our way, thus, the statement "we are just human". Words portraying our deficiency to live as gods. To be good is more than the physical attributes of living a moral life, it holds more weight than that. It's a commitment that at no point in time you have lived below the standard of uprightness. Until being upright is your identity with no form of err, then you become good.

Image generated using Gemini AI

No wonder only God was fit to bear the name "good". The moment you become a man, you fall below the standard. We can be nice, morally well behaved, but as long as our weakness still resides, we can't fit into this definition of being good. Our act may look nice, but our hearts sometimes speak differently. No one is supposed to be good and still be lacking in certain areas, and that humans may never be considered to be good according to its actual meaning.

However, in our world today. Being good means doing what's right in the eyes of people. Any act of kindness is considered good and if two or three bear witness of such an act, everyone suddenly regards one as being good. Our judgment of being good is by works-what we do, and that status wouldn't last if at any point one shows an attitude that is outside their judgment of what's considered to be good. We can be good in someone's eyes and bad in others, or we can be good today to someone and the next day become a bad person to the same person. So the idea of good among humans is illusional, only God is good, and only him can judge one to be Good. Because men set a faulty standard while judging, but God loved beyond them all.