IRJ#19
Our “Good” Actions: Thinking About Others Before Ourselves
In English class, we are reading the Genesis portion of The Oxford Annotated Bible, and the story of God’s creation of the Earth describes the meticulous steps that God used to develop the world. But, after every step of creation, “[A]nd God saw that it was good” is written. God made sure that everything would act as a positive force in the world.
I believe that many people act in appalling ways without even thinking whether it is “good” for others. People hurt others feelings and hurt them physically, and they do not regret their actions until later on. And they think, “I should have thought about the consequences and effects before acting that way.” Everyone regrets some of their decisions, and learning from these mistakes will always hold an important purpose. When we learn from our mistakes, we teach ourselves to think about each of our actions that may affect others negatively. Then we will also influence others to conduct themselves in a more constructive manner.
I have seen people act selfishly and not think about others in their decision-making, and I have behaved that way too. In The Oxford Annotated Bible when God created the humans, he gave them dominion over all the other creatures of the Earth. And, He did not think about whether or not this concept would question his rule over the world. God could have made the humans like the other living creatures on Earth, and he would have possessed greater control. I think that as people grow older, they will learn to make less selfish decisions like God did, and they will understand that it is not always important to satisfy their own needs before others.
Proposition: Although it may sometimes seem less pleasing, working for the common good has become a huge step in the development of our world.
Willy, I definitely share the belief with you that humans learn from their mistakes. In fact, I think that it is the best way for a person to learn. If we can’t make mistakes, we certainly can not learn any important life-lessons. Scientists have actually proven that a human-being will remember a mistake and the correction more than a simple other fact.
When I was ten years old, I started helping a neighbor’s son mow the lawn at their house. We also had to use a machine called an edger in order to trim the sides of the lawn vertically. The machine itself was not incredibly difficult to control, yet the specific operation required more skill. This skill was one of the many in life that one can not learn simply by watching or hearing about it. The difficulty in the task was that the spinning blade had to be placed right next to the side walk, yet not on top or touching it. So, I decided one day that I had to try it. Of course, the first thing I did was hit the pavement which caused sparks to go everywhere.
After mastering the skill, I now find myself teaching my employees this operation and watch them make the same mistakes I did. The mistakes however, are vital in the learning process, and without them one simply can not function as an individual.
WillJ
February 3, 2010
I understand what you are getting at Willy, but after reading about Noah and the flood, it seems like God saw that we are not good and will have to be punished in such a drastic way. Also, after the flood God says that man is evil from youth. You say that we develop over time into a good human. If so, why did no God make us good from the beginning and save all that time? After Jesus’ death, he will come again to judge the living and the dead. This shows that not all mankind is good, because there will be another kind of disaster like the flood. Yes, some will survive this, but it can not be said that all humans become good over time or else Jesus will not have to come back to judge the living and the dead.
nolanm2013
February 3, 2010