Monday August 21, 2017
“What” is good must be understood in correlation with “Who” is Good. Jesus tells the rich man that God alone is perfect goodness. Everything else is good or bad in relation to God. In God’s hand, what is apparently tragic can turn out to be good. Similarly, what we consider to be apparently good may actually be not-so-good, when it is not inspired by God. Example: an illness, which is seemingly bad, may become a channel of grace when received gratefully from the hand of God. Landing a “perfect” job has sometimes led people to pride and arrogance, and thus loss of God’s grace.
Hence, the singularity and centrality of God in understanding goodness. St. Paul makes it very clear when he writes, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). What the young man needed to do was to sell every other concern and give the singular remaining central place to God. Sadly, he could not bring himself to do it. How about us?
