Goodness Is Its Own Reward
May 10, 2009
Fr. George Smiga
John 15:1-8
Why should we be good? Why should we tell the truth? Why should we serve others? Why should we work and sacrifice to build a more just world? One typical way of answering this question is to say that Christ commanded these things. Therefore, when we die and stand before God not following these commandments will deny us eternal life. I once heard a preacher even say that if there was no life after death, if we did not some day have to stand before God, then we might as well just live our lives as we please. We might as well cheat and steal and manipulate others for our own advancement and pleasure. Because if we do not have to give an accounting before God, then everything is up for grabs and there really is no good reason why we should be good.
Now I believe in life after death and I believe that we will be asked to give an accounting for the lives we have lived, but to make that final judgment the only reason that we should live good lives is in my opinion, incomplete and misleading. We should live good lives because that is the best way to live. Goodness is its own reward. Now today’s gospel pushes us in this direction. Jesus says, “I am the vine and you are the branches.” This means that the very life of Christ flows within us. And that life flows today as we live and as we breathe. And if that is the case then the deepest truth, the most profound joy, the ultimate success is to let that life of Christ that is within us grow and to shape our own lives according to Christ’s life. Now it is true that Christ commands us to serve one another, to forgive our enemies, to live in generosity and integrity. But Christ does not make these commands so as to provide some test for a future day. He commands us to live this way because he knows that this is the most deep and satisfying way to live. We are called to love one another not because Christ commanded it. Christ commanded it because the deepest way to live is by loving one another.
On this Mother’s Day weekend we might look to mothers as an example of this truth. Why do mother’s love their children? Why do they get up early in the morning to prepare their kids for school? Why are they willing to put aside their own agenda and schedule for the sake of their children? Why do they never tire of trying to think of ways to help their children grow to be more successful, to be more happy? I suppose we could answer that question by saying that mothers are seeking an eternal reward in heaven. And I do believe that mothers who love their children will receive an eternal reward in heaven. But I do not think that the average mother lays down her life day after day for her family for some eternal reward. I think mothers love their families because they know that there is no greater calling than to pass on life to another and to watch that life grow.
So every time we live our lives in generosity and service, we are allowing the very life of Christ to grow within us and we believe that God abides in our hearts. This is a truth we need to remember always. And that is a challenge. There is always the temptation to believe that somehow we are going to be happier if we think only about ourselves, if we can accumulate wealth by any means possible, if we can somehow end up number one through deception or manipulation. That kind of thinking promises us happiness, but it does not deliver.
The only thing that really make us happy is when we know we can give life to another, when we can raise the burden off of the shoulders of someone who is struggling, when we can teach a child to read, or free another from ignorance or depression. That’s why Christ commanded that we do all of those things. Not to make our life difficult, but to make it real. Not so that we might escape some future punishment, but so that we might live our lives more deeply today.
One day each of us will come to a moment in our lives when we will know that our death is near. If we have lived our lives as best as we can according to Christ’s commandments we will be the most fortunate people, because we will not only be able to look forward to a future reward, but we will be able to look backward over a life well lived. Because in those final moments of life there is no greater satisfaction or joy than in knowing that we have given life to another, that we have forgiven our enemy, that we have born our life in witness to integrity and truth. Goodness is its own reward. Goodness is our present joy. It precedes the joy of heaven.
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