Goodness

When we say that something is wet, precisely what do we mean? A cloth, for instance is not wet of its own nature; for it to become wet, it must be wetted by a liquid such as water. It’s the liquid, not the cloth, which of its very nature is wet; the wetted cloth simply participates in the intrinsic wetness of the liquid.

In the same way, we humans are not intrinsically good in the sense of being naturally virtuous; any goodness that we have is an extrinsic participation in the intrinsic goodness of God. “The earth is full of his goodness” (Ps 33:5, emphasis mine). One rather neglected way of practicing trust is to rely trustingly on God to penetrate us with his goodness, like the water-saturated cloth. David saw God’s goodness, when articulated as revelation, as being reflective of his divine trustworthiness: “Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised goodness to your servant” (2 Sm 7:28, emphasis mine; see 1 Chr 17:26).

One of those stick-on-your-bathroom-mirror adages says: “Character is what you are; reputation is what people think you are.” That’s another way of saying that authentic goodness is not to be confused with popularity. One very significant sign of its authenticity is that “the goodness of God leads us to repentance” (Rom 2:4). Because of this, Paul could compliment the Roman Christians, “You yourselves are full of goodness” (Rom 15:14).

Another sign of its authenticity related to trust in God is its reliance on him to lead us through a concatenated series of consequences to our ultimate destiny. This eschatological implication of God-derived goodness has been almost poetically articulated by Charles A. Hall: “We sow our thoughts, and we reap our actions; we sow our actions and we reap our habits; we sow our habits and we reap our character; we sow our character and we reap our destiny.”

A life that has been truly well lived in goodness leaves behind for others a trail of joy-filled memories and for the future a sign of a splendiferous life yet to come. When our divine Attorney assigns our bequeathal of “goods of goodness” to our progeny, let us pray that there will be a superabundance of goodness for them and others to admire and imitate for years to come.

Trust starts with appreciating the astonishing truth that by God’s goodness we are made in his image and likeness. By having an immortal soul with an intellect and free will, each of us individually is greater than all animals, plants, and inanimate matter of creation put together, as St. Thomas Aquinas affirmed. That’s reason for us to “celebrate his abundant goodness” (Ps 145:7).

Once we are deeply aware that God’s intrinsic goodness is extruded into our very human nature, our trust becomes more than a mere recognition of his creative and providential plan for us. It grows to become a reliance on him to work out that plan ultimately for our best interests. Jeremiah exulted in the truth: “The Lord is good to those whose trust is in him” (Lam 3:25, emphasis mine).

This excerpt is from the book Pathways of Trust, by John H. Hampsch,C.M.F., originally published by Servant Publications. It and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/visual materials can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408.