The Greatest Good - Will Tyler

The greatest good is a term in philosophy describing the Moral which all moral values are included in or from which they are derived. Philosophers believed that if they could figure out which good is of the highest value than they could understand why humans intrinsically view some things as moral and other things as immoral. Eventually they sought to create their own moral systems, based off of what they thought the greatest good was.

Trying to find the greatest good is not a new phenomenon or trend. In fact, some of the findings that have melted into our culture’s philosophy have been found 300 years before the birth of Christ. One of the first people to enter their thoughts into this discussion was Aristotle. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, whose ideas shaped the ancient world and much of our own ideas in the west. Aristotle believed that the greatest good was eudaimonia which loosely translates to human flourishing, living well, and happiness. Now, Aristotle’s ideas may have melted into history never to be heard from again if it wasn’t for one of his students Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great grew up to conquer one of, if not the largest, sections of land ever conquered in one man’s lifetime. The region he conquered all learned to speak the same language and when it was finally taken over by the Romans, they found it much easier to lead such a large area of land. Interestingly enough, such a large span of people all being able to speak the same language (Greek), later led to Christianity being able to spread fast as well. However, the language was not the only thing all these different groups of people were united by. Aristotle’s ideas were also shared among such a large group of people. Basically, impacting all except the Jewish people, who held tightly to their God, which greatly annoyed the Greeks and Romans.

Now perhaps these ideas didn’t have much affect until after the medieval ages, when European philosophers, tired of Christianity, turned to look at the ancient Greek Philosophers. Immanuel Kant championed this idea of happiness as the greatest good. It did not take long for this to start having effects on the world. In Kant’s lifetime America declared their Independence. The Declaration of Independence was written to describe the unalienable, or God given, rights of people, and in the now famous line they are described as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To describe the pursuit of happiness as a human right, and to view it as the greatest good has massive affects even in our world today. America was not the only country to declare independence and describe happiness as a right. The French soon declared Independence from their king and happiness is one of the many things they declared as a human right. Utilitarianism, or the view that the right course of action is to do the thing that makes the most amount of people happy, became a popular philosophical view for a relatively short period, although one could argue that this view has infected our political beliefs in the western world.

Fast forward to our modern world, where many live their whole lives in the pursuit of happiness. We believe fully that the good life is a life that makes us happy, a life that brings us pleasure. We elect prime ministers and presidents not wanting them to make moral decisions about a country, but rather we wish that they would make decisions that would make us the most happy (both political sides do this). We live our lives not considering what is right but rather what will make me or those who agree with me the most happy. This idea of happiness has infected the way we perceive the world, it has become the greatest good of our society. Happiness is the ideal we sell to children. Now we have to ask ourselves is this necessarily bad? Or can Christians live their whole life in the pursuit of happiness?

That is a difficult question to answer, but I think just because its difficult does not mean that there is no answer. This question of the greatest good is so old, that it was asked before Jesus was born. The Jewish people were not a people to fall into the religious and philosophical questions of the people around them and yet they had a similar question to ask Jesus about their own moral laws. In Matthew 22:36-39 they ask Jesus “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

You see, Jesus knew the question that this man was fundamentally asking, what is the greatest good? What is the greatest commandment that effects every moral decision I have to make? Jesus’ answer is so much greater than any worldly philosophy that we could answer this question with. Jesus knew that loving God and earnestly desiring to serve Him in everyway with all our heart, soul, and mind, is the only way that we could answer truthfully all the moral questions that we come across in life. Our love for God sets us apart from the philosophies of the world because our meaning, our calling in life isn’t to just feel happy. We aren’t meaningless things just floating around the galaxy chasing chemical reactions in our brain that make us happy. Rather we are creatures whose whole purpose is to love and desire the God that created us to love us. It’s not our emotions or logic that gives our lives meaning, the only thing that gives our lives everlasting meaning is the God that we relate to. Our value is reflective not simply because all living things are inherently valuable, we are inherently valuable because God loves us and has created us in His image. As our greatest good, we are to make every decision asking, “is what I am doing displaying my love for God?” “And does this bring Him glory?” Every other commandment is then serving our love for God. Jesus told His followers in John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands.” So, when we obey the commands of God, we are submitting ourselves to the real greatest good, the love of God.

But saying this we have to examine glorifying Jesus. Because all though there is sometimes suffering and struggle, and our happiness is not the greatest focus, there is a happiness that can only be revealed in a relationship with Jesus. Experiencing the life-giving grace of Jesus setting us free from the sin that has entrapped us, is the happiest thing we could ever experience. Living a meaningful life in service to God, is a battle and struggle at times, but serving God and knowing your life has meaning is also the best way to ensure happiness in times of struggle. We tell others so that they will hopefully be able to experience the grace that allows us to experience true happiness. So, I don’t want to come across as saying happiness is an evil, something we must purify ourselves from, because in reality we experience life giving happiness when God is most glorified in us. It could be said that glorifying God and desiring Him above all else is the happiest thing we could do in our pursuit of happiness.

But Jesus does not finish His answer there. He also declares that the second greatest commandment is to “Love your neighbour as yourself.” It shows He knows the temptations of those who act like they love God but in reality, their hearts are far from Him. The Pharisees, and many outwardly religious groups and people, have the discipline and the works that God wants, but because they don’t truly love God, they aren’t able to love the sinners around them. Without love for our neighbour, we don’t understand the heart of who God is. If we can’t love the sinners around us, how can we understand the God who would die for a sinner such as us. We can’t submit ourselves to the greatest good of loving God who is perfect in everyway if we can’t even love the fallen sinners around us.

Now, this does not mean that we participate in the sin or encourage the sin around us. It is sad that I even need to clarify this. Rather we need to love people but make war on the sin around us, learning to separate actions from people. I can love a murderer without suggesting that murder is ok. To truly love someone, I must follow the truth that Jesus has shown to me and has commanded me to follow. I do not help a person by becoming complacent in their sin or by judging them. Loving our neighbours is no easy task but if we wish to love God with every ounce of our being we will learn to love the neighbours around us.

We need to think about what it means to have happiness as the greatest good. Too many people have died thinking their life will have meaning only if they attain happiness. But that is the opposite of reality. If you want to have meaning sometimes you must suffer and struggle for what is righteous, don’t conform to the ways of the world, die to your own desires, pick up your cross, and lead a life that glorifies God and helps the people around you. Any historical Christian hero you can name including, Perpetua, Samuel Morris, Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, Amy Carmichael, Gladys Aylward, William Carey, William Booth, George Muller, Hudson Taylor, or Martin Luther King Jr., all lived meaningful lives, but their lives where not characterized by emotional happiness but where rather characterized by suffering for the meaning they found in Jesus. Their lives where meaningful because happiness was not their greatest good. But rather they could experience true happiness because they loved God more than what the world told them would make them feel happy. Their lives were meaningful because loving Jesus with all their heart, soul, and mind, was their greatest good.

So, to you brother or sister in Christ, goes the challenge what is your greatest good? Who or what do you serve with every breath from your lungs, do you pursue happiness or the glory of God? When a choice has to be made, who do you serve? Is your master your own happiness that is temporary and produces no ultimate meaning, or do you live a life destined to bring glory to God? If you do wish to love and bring glory to God through your life, how do you treat your neighbours? Do your neighbours experience the love of God by how you live your life? I pray that you would live a life filled to the brim with eternal meaning and value. I pray your choices would influence other’s love for Christ in the best of ways. I pray that you would have the courage to sacrifice your desires for the love of God and for your neighbour. And I pray that you could experience the true happiness that comes with glorifying God.