What makes a person good?

Kaity Holtman

My husband and I teach eighth-grade religious education, and each year we cover a lesson requested by the first group of students we ever had.

The lesson is called “Why bad things happen to good people.”

This is a question everyone asks at some point, and I’m not sure anyone has the exact answer.

I know I don’t, so we take a little different angle to the topic. When we address the question, we take a huge step back.

What makes a person good?

Who decides who is good and who isn’t?

It appears everyone starts out good, doesn’t it?

When we ask them to list qualities of a good person, we have them think of specific people they look up to.

We get words like nice, kind, helpful, generous, etc.

And they’re right.

We sometimes forget how simple that is, until we ask for descriptors from students.

It all seems so complex as we get older, as we get into politics in business and life views.

So then, as we continue the conversation, we discuss that everyone is good and has good inside of them — even the people who commit the worst of crimes. There is good inside each of us.

It’s situations, experiences and circumstances, and how we react to those situations, experiences and circumstances that shape our character and measure the amount of “good” we let ourselves remain as we grow older.

I know it’s more complicated than good and bad, and we stress that with the young adults we teach. But at the same time, sometimes it’s as simple, or as complicated, as we want it to be, isn’t it?

What kind of person do you want to be?

Nice?

Kind?

Helpful?

Generous?

What about honest?

Moral?

Respectful?

Positive?

Driven?

Hopeful?

Faithful?

Hard working?

Is there anything stopping you from being exactly those things?

I sure don’t think so.

We all face challenges in our lives that cause us to struggle, question our faith, doubt ourselves or people we thought we could rely on.

If we let them, these challenges can cause us to become jaded and untrusting.

Or we can use them to grow in wisdom and experience.

Now it’s obvious none of us are perfect, especially me. I’m a sinner every day.

But if I can help remind someone of the goals they had for themselves when they were just 14, I hope to make a difference in their outlook on life and on themselves.

What kind of “good” person do you want to be?

And how do you put the “good” you into your everyday actions?