Good secular people

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I will often meet people who are good, honest, welcoming and friendly. Usually they are secular and have no desire to lead a Catholic life. Yet, they exhibit a lot of Christian behaviour.

So this is what baffles me. Where do they get the strenght to be so good??? I try hard to follow a Catholic lifstyle and I feel I could never measure up to their good qualities. I could never be as friendly or good or non-judgemental as them.

Does anyone else ever feel like that?

CM

 

[Trishie]

You probably shouldn’t compare yourself with others, and usually we’re harder on ourselves than others. We respond to God’s love to whatever degree.
God’s love isn’t simply limited to believers. God loves each person into existence.

 

[illmatic]

Doing good because of a moral sense of good and evil rather than a theological one.

 

[LilyM]

I will often meet people who are good, honest, welcoming and friendly. Usually they are secular and have no desire to lead a Catholic life. Yet, they exhibit a lot of Christian behaviour.

So this is what baffles me. Where do they get the strenght to be so good??? I try hard to follow a Catholic lifstyle and I feel I could never measure up to their good qualities. I could never be as friendly or good or non-judgemental as them.

Does anyone else ever feel like that?

CM

Put it this way - of course you can measure up to their good qualities, and more. Like Martha, these people without faith are busy about all sorts of things, but are lacking the one needful thing that Mary had.

They haven’t ‘chosen the better part’. You have.

And this isn’t a boast on the part of people of faith, or a belittling of those who have none, because that ‘better part’ that we have is pure gift of God and none of our own doing.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Does anyone else ever feel like that?

As what illmatic said, you don’t have to spend your time reciting novenas or praying the rosary three times a day to adhere to the Catholic/Christian sense of right and wrong. Such a thing is more under the category of morality, ethics, and philosophy than spirituality.

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

I will often meet people who are good, honest, welcoming and friendly. Usually they are secular and have no desire to lead a Catholic life. Yet, they exhibit a lot of Christian behaviour.

So this is what baffles me. Where do they get the strenght to be so good??? I try hard to follow a Catholic lifstyle and I feel I could never measure up to their good qualities. I could never be as friendly or good or non-judgemental as them.

Does anyone else ever feel like that?

CM

… my dear friend …

… when you come to god the devil joins the journey and the further you travel towards your goal the harder the devil fights you along the way , you encounter massive resistance from the devil as a catholic , the good secular people are left alone , the good secular people don’t have the knowledge , understanding and appreciation of the very strict moral code man must live by so they never judge or criticise people for immoral behaviour much , they have some remanants of their christian heritage from their ancestors , schools , culture etc , the good secular people are in total conformity with the world and therefore not very controversial or confrontational , and catholics can go a little overboard being harsh and judgmental - try to avoid this part , it leads to a culture of punishment when all the laws and rules which are massive in your head are broken by peo;ple , if you want the perfect model of a christian to see how we stack up against pagans and others then make a christian a blend of mother teresa who had the ultimate culture of love and st francis of assissi who had the greatset love for all creation - put them together into one person and you have nearly the best christian , then try and make the best good secular person and compare them — quite a difference isn’t there , we all need to become saints - that’s the answer …

… god sees things completely differently to you also , remember that , he does not see things as you do but rather the reality of all …

… god bless you …

… john …

 

[Totterman]

Jesus,our Lords peace be whit You.
Maybe You try TO hard to be good. God wants us to do what is right,but He is never asking us to moore then we can. Secular people are not thinking of what is rigth or wrong,they truly go by the rule “do unto others…” whitout realy thinking about it. Sometimes it is easier to follow Jesus not knowing you are. Faith is importent,and we all need that,but once in a while someone who never goes to church or pray turn out to be a better human then the one praying and atending mass regulary. Theese secular people has Gods blessing whitout knowing it. It is a strange thing,the one whit strong faith cant make it,and the one whit maybe no faith at all,make it. This makes no sence thinking fast at it,but taking time,it make sence. Still,I urge all to attend mass atleast once a week,sadly I cant due to poor healt,panic-attacs and depression,but I have my mass reading the Bible and praying.

 

[on_eagles_wingz]

There are many secular folks these days that believe in the power of positive energy. Its a very popular thing right now with the new age thinking that is going on. One example is the book The Secret which says that you can manifest anything in your life just by thinking positively about it.

This unfortunately is the root of many people’s goodwill towards others. It is not always the case of course. It could just be that these folks had a great upbringing or have had some lifechanging event like a near death experience. It could also be that they are devout christians, but not catholic. In any case I guess we should be thankful that there are still people like that around, whatever their reasons might be.

 

[Sherry_G]

God, our Father is the creator of all of us. Each one has been created in His image and likeness. God is constantly and consistently loving each person and offering His gifts of faith, hope and love. Each of us has a path to salvation and every path has its own course. Try to love and appreciate all the gifts that you have been given and share them with others as much as possible. God works all things for good. Those whom you perceive as good are on the path, my friend.

 

[EmeraldWings]

*“None is good but God alone.” *Luke 18:19

everyone has the ability to be good…or not, but all goodness is Gods and comes from Him alone.
if they have goodness in them, it is still by the grace of God, God does not abandon even those who have nothing to do with them…

But the reason they may appear “good” and you not so much, is because they are not struggling with their sins, which does not mean they do not have sins, but that they are not fighting them,
you on the other hand, you are aware of many of your sins, and you want to overcome them, and so you are struggling and fighting with yourself and the devil, and because you work to know your sins and overcome them, you are rooting them up, bringing them to the surface, and the harder it gets, the closer you are to ridding yourself of them, because the devil knows he is losing, and fights with even more furry.

don’t be envious of the good of others, whether they are Catholic or not, you must reach for holiness at your own pace, and be glad at the holiness of others.
but don’t be fooled by outward appearance, because those who do not follow the law of God, do not go to church, do not have anything to do with God, are they “good”? if their souls are dead and quite possibly hell bound, is that something to be envious of?
i would rather be a sinner who loves God, than a “good” person who rejects Him…
you struggle with your sins because you love God, and that to me is the better way, because if there is no struggle, then there is nothing to gain,

I try hard to follow a Catholic lifstyle and I feel I could never measure up to their good qualities. I could never be as friendly or good or non-judgemental as them.

not on your own, but by the grace of God you most certainly can…even though, you should never be satisfied or content with yourself, not until you get to heaven.
read the lives of the saints, and take after them, not your Godless neighbor…because there is the right way to be “good” and the wrong way…and even though your neighbor most certainly has good qualities, they are not always whats best according to God.

ok, hope this helps, take care.

 

[puzzleannie]

I will often meet people who are good, honest, welcoming and friendly. Usually they are secular and have no desire to lead a Catholic life. Yet, they exhibit a lot of Christian behaviour.

So this is what baffles me. Where do they get the strenght to be so good??? I try hard to follow a Catholic lifstyle and I feel I could never measure up to their good qualities. I could never be as friendly or good or non-judgemental as them.

Does anyone else ever feel like that?

CM

they are responding to the natural promptings placed by God in every human heart. All actions to the contrary are perversions of that natural desire to show love and receive love, caused by original sin. And yes there are certainly non-Christians who do a better job of modelling a Christ they do not even know than do many Christians. The difference is Christians are held to that higher standard and will be judged much more harshly, as Jesus warns.

 

[MarianD]

Doing good because of a moral sense of good and evil rather than a theological one.

I’d say the two are one and the same for the most part, though the secular person doesn’t know it.

God has ingrained us all with senses of good and evil. Put a newborn baby on a deserted island and have him grow up there, then bring him into society again. That baby will know things such as rape, murder, etc. are wrong. But that would be a REALLY unethical study.

Other Commandments, like observing the sabbath, loving God, etc. are things we need to learn and live. But the basics are things that God has ingrained in us through the mental (human mind) development during the process of Evolution…or so I personally believe.

 

[Student09]

You all are complicating this too much.

People are different. Not all people have the same challenges. Not all people are tempted in the same way or to the same degree. Some of it comes down to personality.

Also I think a lot of people mistake friendliness/amiability for charity. But friendliness or being warm and pleasant socially is really a natural personality trait that some people have and some don’t. Charity is a supernatural virtue by which one loves one’s neighbor as oneself for the love of God. They are quite different.