Think About It. Really.

Think about it. Give me four minutes to tickle your intellectual imagination. Really consider the potential of what I am about to say.

“You are good and have in you the power to make more good for yourself and others.”

I’ve been talking a lot about this idea lately. In my TEDx Talk which I gave in October (check it out!) I offered this sentences as a replacement to the Christian confession “I am by nature sinful and unclean and cannot free myself,” rooted in the Doctrine of Original Sin. 

I have since had the opportunity to speak to a group of retired pastors, another with current pastors, another discussion with progressive non-clergy Christians and still others with non-religious and secular folk.

It has been interesting to hear the responses from these various groups of people and the common theme they hold between them. It seems that no one truly buys into the old idea that human beings are naturally (meaning we were born that way) bad and sinful. “I moved beyond that over a decade ago” one pastor said. Another offered that he’d have to get that “old doctrine out and dust it off. I can’t remember what it argues,” he laughed. Other individuals explained that they don’t really think that anyone believes that anymore.

Apparently it’s not a big issue. That is, until I make it clear that I do not mean that we as humans do good and are good because God works through us, but that we as humans are naturally good already – right now – this minute – in all the stuff of our humanity – we are good. “And,” I add, “we have an abundance of that good within us to continue to make more of the good because we choose to use it.”

When that sinks in, the eyebrows raise and the bottoms shift in seats. “Say what?”

Let me try again:

You are naturally good. Meaning, you did not have to “do” anything to “get good” or to “get the good” in you. It simply is in you and you simply are, good. And, you have the capacity already in you, right now, as you exist in this moment, to make more good that will positively affect you and others. By regularly affirming your own GOOD you create more capacity within yourself to do more good. The more seriously you take practicing this idea and claiming that is it true for you, the more good capacity you create. It multiplies!

Believing, practicing, affirming and training with the idea that YOU are GOOD by the very nature of your being human – shifts everything. It changes every aspect of how you and I interact with ourselves, each other, our government, strangers and with ideas and challenges. Here are just a few ripples to contribute to your thinking:

1. You do not need to get the good from anywhere else, or anyone else. You are good all on your own just because you are you.
2. You don’t need a god, church, religion or any other person (lover, parent, friend, etc…) to prove you are worthy or acceptable. You are good, way deep-down-into-the-core of yourself good, without anyone else or anything else confirming this truth.
3. There is no need to have religious judgment. Because ALL humans are naturally good, religion is not required or used to make us acceptable and good. We already are. This gives space for religion to be a source of comfort, story & guidance, thinking & wonder, celebration & community instead of “rightness” and judgment.  We can be in different religions and still be in relationship. We can learn stories that vary one from another, practice liturgies that are unique and still claim that we share the same CORE GOOD!
4. I am responsible for my life, my choices, my loves, my feelings, my reactions and responses, my…. everything.  Because I have all the capacity I need to make good and to do good, I have all the power I need to be the one in control of myself and my life. I do not need a god, a job, a social status or a relationship to make my life good or to blame when I struggle.  I am in control of my life and have the good capacity to direct and interact with all that happens around me.  
5. I am not a victim. I do not blame others for the situation of my life or for how I feel. I am naturally good and have plenty of good in me to use to make healthy, good and life-giving choices. I do not need to wait for god to finally bless me, or for a company to recognize my potential. I do not need to blame you for making me feel small, or wait until “someone loves me” to claim my worth and beauty. I realize my power and regularly tap in to my good that reminds me I am in control and responsible for me.
6. When I practice the idea that I am born naturally good, I am practicing that same idea for you too. I am naturally good and so is every other human. This is a momentous shift from only affirming good in me and my kind, to including everyone, no matter their race, creed, color, sexual orientation or political affiliation. Each of us is responsible for using our own good, and still when I practice affirming that I believe you have it (whether or not you are tapping into it) have more room to listen to you, see you and be available to problem-solve with you.

When you take these few minutes to really consider this idea, you will add ripples to this list. It is a remarkable concept that is, unfortunately, not being practiced or taught in our churches, temples, schools, homes and society. Even as people are adamant that they no longer subscribe to the old language of being “sinful and unclean” we remain rooted in the notion that without God, church, friendship or good upbringing, we cannot on our own be and do, good.

There is an across-the-board nervousness I encounter when I assert that as humans we do have the power and capacity to make good choices & to create more good within us and around us. We do it. We tap into it and we create more of it.

“It sounds an awful lot like self-worship” someone recently stated, including the assumption that such worship is negative.   

I say, “Right on!”

I have counseled and guided enough people who doubt their worth, loath their life and think of themselves as bad that I think we can use buckets of self-worship, focusing on our inner good, practicing tapping into it and regularly giving ourselves love, respect and reverence!