...Everything
This is why the human race is so powerful.
Every person born into this world- different but equal, has free will. He chooses his own path and walks it for as long as he lives. A person has the G-d given right to choose good over evil or evil over good.
I find myself saying to many people recently that I don't believe in the sage old saying, "Good things happen to good people". We see all around us bad people getting everything that they want... and we see good people going through earth shattering tragedies. If doing the wrong thing is not only more fun and exciting but also more prosperous, than why would anyone want to be good?
Recently I had ta major struggle with this question. It went a little deeper trhan just that.
My question was not just "why choose good", it was "why choose good when the people around you think that you are evil?"
If everyone thinks a person is a thief then its very easy for the person to tell themself that, for them, being good doesn't make any difference. 'I'm still a theif in their eyes.' He/she may be so hurt and under so much pressure that he/she simply chooses to live up to everyone's expectations of him.
So I was going through a bit of a life crisis which forced me to think about this question long and hard. Although i knew the answer all along I wasn't able to ready accept and internalize it until it hit me in the face.
The way I see it; One who does good only does it for one reason- because he or she believes that there is a greater purpose in this world. Whether or not they believe in G-d is irrelevant. But without a grain of uncertainty they believe that there is a some reason that they are doing what they do, something they gain from it.
Even if that purpose is as mundane as finding pleasure in the hapiness and affection of another. For doing evil can only be a product of pure selfishness.
I personally believe that there is a G-d. For one who believes in G-d the answer is obvious.
Who cares what everyone esle thinks? G-d see's everything and that's all that matters.
The problem with believers is that they don't always believe as much as they think they do... mainly b/c there is not an immediate comforting reaction.
We can't see G-d nod His head in approval..
we can't feel Him put his hand on our shoulder, or whisper encouraging words in our ear.
He doesn't apear and give us a big hug and then tell us how proud He is with all we are striving for.
We can't see Him smile, or hear the words " I love you, my child".
Its hard for any type of person to internalize something they can't see. I guess I was lucky that the realization of G-d's love did hit me in the face just a few days later in a most interesting way. With this realization also came the appreciation of all the unusual and abundant love I constanly feel from the people around me. It was as if my eyes had been opened and the mist totally cleared from my vision. I could see how trully blessed i am.
That caused me to look around and reassess my question.
What i discovered was simple but sometimes easy to overlook. The people who choose evil, wrong, pain, fear, lies, deception... they may get everything they want sometimes but they will never have what i have- Love.
Money, fame, power- they all fade and a person who once gloried in them, is left to feel alone and meaningless.
Because friends can't be bought, as soon as the money runs out they are gone.
Power corrupts and Fame misleads.
These people, end up with no one. They never get to feel true love.
True love lasts but it takes commitment and sometimes a bit of maintenance. It takes caring about the people around you and stepping outside of yourself. It takes loving somebody and then keeping your heart open to feeling loved in return.
So essentially the answer to the question is; being good is not just about scoring brownie points in heaven- its about paving the way for G-d to give you everything that really matters. A priceless and irreplacable gift.
Personally, I've decided to embrace it.
Be good and be loved. I think that's a fair trade :)
Esdee Kay
