Absolute good is an essential attribute of God. Man’s goodness springs from that of God’s and it is relative and varies according to each one’s time and ability.
All religions have called for goodness
In his psalms David wrote,
“Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.” Solomon said: “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so.”
Isaiah has also written:
“Learn to do good; Seek justice”. In Bible it is written :
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.”
“For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men”. “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but[d] he who does evil has not seen God.”
Moreover, it is written in the Qur’an
“O you who have believed, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord and do good – that you may succeed.”
“No good is there in much of their private conversation, except for those who enjoin charity or that which is right or conciliation between people..” And whoever does that seeking means to the approval of Allah – then We are going to give him a great reward.
And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful.
A benevolent is always humble and he realized that his goodness springs from that of God’s. He would not wait for praise or gratification and or does a good deed out of fear of some persons. He resembles an angel of God.
He would not resort to wrong means to help a person. For instance, he would not help a student by letting him cheat in exams. He would not do the work of someone but he would train that person to do his job perfectly.
As the Chinese saying goes,
“GIVE A MAN A FISH AND HE WILL EAT FOR A DAY; TEACH A MAN TO FISH AND HE WILL EAT FOR A LIFETIME.”
You would not be able to do his work all the time. Thus, true benevolence is to help people discover their own talents and gifts. Speaking of that, I recall Abraham Lincoln … to be continued
Principles – Benevolence (3) The Benevolent – 23/8/2014
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