I’ve finished reading the book How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur, the creator of the television show The Good Place. It could be titled Secular Ethics Philosophy for Dummies. It is an easy read and I’ve read about a third of it. But as the alternate title I gave suggest, it doesn’t touch the religious philosophers such as St Agustine or Buddha.

The first philosopher he discusses is of course Aristotle. Aristotle’s main thrust is that the end goal is for man (as mankind or all humans) to flourish or be happy. An ethical life is necessary to flourish. According to Aristotle, the way for a man to flourish is for him to follow virtues such as honesty and courage in order to fulfill his purpose of happiness. Aristotle claimed that people must constantly practice these virtues to the point they become a person’s nature.

This got me to thinking, and I asked myself, “Did Christ give us a list of virtues to follow? And by following these virtues will they lead us to flourish?” I came to the conclusion he did. His list is the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount.

I look at there being seven Beatitudes. I know that it is universally accepted as there being eight or nine, but if you look at the results of the first one it says, “theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Which is the same result as the eighth one. This tells me that Jesus is beginning to explain in more detail the full implication of his first seven points. In fact, I believe that the rest of the sermon is an exposition of the seven Beatitudes.

Let’s look at those seven and contemplate how they are a list of Christian virtues for us to follow. But before we do that, we have to consider what the term “Blessed” means. It is the Greek word makario, which some translate as “happy.” I really don’t like that translation. I feel the best translation is blessed, since it suggests one who is favored or set aside by God. Following these virtues will result in you receiving God’s favor. For unlike Aristotle’s list of virtues, the goal of Christ list isn’t for us to be happy but for us to be holy.

So, consider the first one, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” This seems to suggest one who is extremely humble, as in one who recognize his own wretchedness and must call on God’s grace. One who realizes he can never on his own be good enough to approach God. He is one who humbles himself before God and is allowed into the kingdom. The first is humility.

The second is “Blessed are the mournful.” This seems odd that mourning is a blessing, but I think I understand it better than most. My wife and I lost a child, and it is the worse loss a person can feel, but due to that loss I believe I and my wife have received a much better sense of empathy. Due to that empathy, we are better equipped to feel others’ grief and in comforting them we receive comfort. The second is empathy.

The third is “Blessed are the meek.” This is the Greek word praus which has also been translated as gentle or mild. But this simple translation fails to relay the nuance of this word. We think of meekness and gentleness as synonymous with weak or easily dominated. When it is really more in line with the Japanese word “Ju” which is also translated as gentle. But both ju and praus hints at the idea of controlled power that is never used indiscriminately. They relay the idea of constant disciplined actions to improve. The third would be self-discipline.

The fourth is “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.” This gives the idea that these are the ones who see righteousness as required for their very existence. But what exactly is righteousness? Later James will write that “true and undefiled religion is to care for the widows and to be unspotted by the world.” Looking at the full context of this passage it can be seen that what he meant by “unspotted by the world,” was to treat everyone, poor and rich, alike as having the same level of worth and respect. In other words, justice. And this is not social justice, economic justice, or any other adjective with justice. For justice – true justice – can only be applied on an individual and a case by case basis and is dispensed equitably to all. The fourth is justice.

The fifth is “Blessed are the merciful.” This seems to be fairly self-explanatory, but there is still some consideration that can be given to it in modern thought. One way to look at it is that you have to accept people with their flaws as well as their strengths. You cannot demand perfection from them by your standard of perfection, any more than they can demand perfection of you by their standards. For all of us have the tendency to wink at our foibles while damning others for their faults. The fifth is acceptance.

The sixth is “Blessed are the pure in heart.” On reading this there is a tendency to think of this as sexual or moral purity, but while that is important it’s not what this is talking about. I have often heard the statement, “Imagine all the good that would be done if no one cared who got the credit.” When looking deeper into the sermon, and you read “don’t let left hand know what your right hand is doing,” you understand that this is what Jesus is really talking about. How many times have you heard of celebrities setting up charities that bare their name, or have them headline a charitable event so to be seen? Why can’t they, or we, just do good without bringing notice to ourselves. Just doing good for the sake of doing good should be sole motivation and do so without seeking praise. The sixth is anonymity.

 The seventh is “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Although Jesus later tells Peter “Those who by the sword will die by the sword,” this is not an injunction to end war by force, or to bring an end to strife in society. This seems to be more about having peace within yourself and from that self-peace letting it spread to others. Consider the greatest crisis, it is the one who remains calm and methodically works the issue that brings peace of mind to those around them and sees everyone through the predicament. By not worrying, they bring peace of mind to all around them. The seventh is serenity.

So, the virtues Jesus listed for us to achieve the goals of fulfillment, flourishing, and holiness, in single words for the Twenty-First Century are humility, empathy, self-discipline, justice, acceptance, anonymity, and serenity.  

#Beatitudes, #Virtues, #Ethics