Earlier today, I saw something on a friend's Facebook page. In the post, this gentleman was explaining his beliefs. He stated he isn't atheist, but that he doesn't fully sign on with their being a God either. But he made a statement that basically said, if there is a god, he doubts this god cares about the trivial things of the flesh, but rather that we be good people.
Now, I am not going to debate the ins and outs of whether or not the God I worship and love cares about things of the flesh (i.e. who's sleeping with whom). But I do want to pose a question...
What does it mean to be a "good person"?
To me, being a good person (or, attempting to be) means essentially to love one another. This is a commandment Jesus gave... one in which that exact terminology is mentioned 12 times in the King James Version (I'm not going to list them all... but they're easy enough to find). In addition to "Love one another" being specifically stated a dozen times, the Bible on a whole is based on the concept of love.
What does it mean to love one another?
Don't kill someone... punch 'em, kick him, stab him, etc.
Don't hurt someone... physically, emotionally, verbally, sexually, etc.
Don't lie (this hurts people). Don't talk bad about someone (this hurts 'em too).
Don't steal from them (anything of theirs... their money, furniture, ideas, spouse, pet, etc).
Don't cheat (yup, this one hurts people too).
And I"m sure the list goes on.
This would be how to be a good person.
Now then, as for those trivial fleshy things?
Cheating we already covered. That hurts people (spouse, loved one, etc).
Sex before marriage? This can hurt others too, depending on how they think of sexuality/virginity.
Masturbation? If you're married/involved, you could be hurting your spouse.
In other words...
To be a good person means to love others. To love others means to put their needs/feelings before your own. Quite simple.
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