A Good Person

What is a “good” person?  What does good look like and act like? That is a very subjective question. Anyone who remembers the advent of color TV knows how subjective “good color” was on those first sets.  Everyone had their own ideas. Let me try and create a working definition of what I would call a “good” person. To do this, I will simply list some traits that come to my mind. They certainly are not exhaustive. Here are my 10 Character Qualities of what makes a Good Person.

1. They have a kind heart
2. They possess a generous spirit
3. They are polite
4. They are quick to lend a hand
5. They honor authority
6. They do not seek to live above accepted rules of reasonable behavior
7. They have a consistent emotional and social balance
8. They value relationships
9. They are dependable
10. They seek well-being for all above their own interests and desires by what they do and by what they refrain from doing.

I would sum this up and say; “A person who demonstrates an abundance of these 10 traits is someone of good character.  They, in fact, are a good person.  You will notice that I did not make this sound super spiritual. That is not to say that I do not value a deep spiritual life and foundation. In my estimation, some of these characteristics can only be consistently demonstrated by a person who is resourced by a deep faith. You can work that out for yourself.

I can think of various ways to apply this information. It can be contrasted as what is good and what is productive. It could be applied to elected or appointed public servants/officials. It could be a way to measure a person’s value to society. Often times, those who make and accomplish the most, and those who move the needle the fastest and furthest are the ones that are valued most highly.  Where does character come in?  What is the acceptable balance?

If you gave a 1-10 (10 being the best) numerical value to each question, as it pertains to yourself, the best total score would obviously be 100 points. What is your score? Do you score yourself higher than others would?  We live in a very judgmental society…perhaps a little self-honesty might do us some good.