Goodness


How many times have you used the word good? We use it so frequently, so automatically, but in modern-day terms, it has so many meanings!
good student (reliability)
good deeds (moral excellence)
good food (satisfying to my palate)
good child (well-behaved)
good job (met and exceeded the standards)
a good cleaning (thoroughness)
good for you (beneficial)
milk is still good (freshness; it hasn't spoiled)
good-ole-boy (maintaining traditional standards)
good news (promising information)
good remarks (favorable written opinions)

In a way, it's used so often and in so many ways that it has lost its power.
The word good comes from the Greek word agathosune which means a zealous activity in doing good. It's active not passive.

By definition, agathosune not only helps, but might and could rebuke and discipline.
Remember Jesus becoming quite upset at the Temple, and He drove out those who were making it a bazaar/market? He showed agathosune/goodness in that moment.
Agathosune, therefore, is active and at times aggressive goodness. Agathosune/goodness is an energized character, expressing itself in active good. It might be sharp and might seen harsh but it's to produce good in others.
And this is what allows parents to be able to correct their child, and this discipline is good because it helps produce a responsible adult.
Are you with me?
To encounter true goodness then, might not always be comfortable.

1.  Was there a time when, though you might not have agreed with them in the moment, your parents disciplined you with a consequence? What positive aspect came of their goodness?
2.  Think of Religion class.  Was it comfortable to be with people who disagreed with you when we were discussing sweatshirts and/or privileges?  What good came of the discussions, if any?
3.  Think of a time that you were in a situation and people were not being morally responsible or were doing things that were not necessarily "good" for them and or others.  What did you do?  Did you stick up for what was "right" or "good" and say or do something about it?  Tell me about it.  Was it uncomfortable for you to do what was right?

24 comments:

  1. I had a consequence over something I did to stand up for someone. I did not stand up for them right way but I was doing the right thing. I don't think that I should have had a consequence when I was doing what I thought was right but not in the right way. The consequence helped me to think through things before I go about them in the wrong way letting anger take over.
    I think that I got a little frusterated but I didn't feel uncomforatble. I know that everyone likes different things and has different views that other people don't always agree with. I did like listening to other peoples point of views.
    I tried to convince them not to keep going on that path but tried not to shame them for it. I wanted them to relize hoe they are important and that doing something not good for them wasn't a good choice just because they were sad. I was uncomforatble becuase the situation was something that I didn't know if I should have walked away from it or try to help him.

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  2. 1. There are always times when I've disagreed with the degree that I've been punished, especially for a minuscule thing like eating before dinner. I remember a time when my brother and I were fighting and we were sent to our rooms, nothing really came out of that that I can recall, it's also the only time that has happened.

    2. When discussing sweatshirt it feels awkward to be the only one who disagrees with a group and being honest I still don't like the color but I can't change that and I only hope that next years will be better. It was better discussing privileges because we were able to branch off each others ideas and improve on suggestions that had already been made. I find that we were more united.

    3. I don't really understand this but I'll do my best here. I remember last spring break when I was in NYC and my friend and I used to sneak out. She lives in an apartment with an elevator as well as a staircase so we used to say that we were sitting in the stairwell when really we would go out and get food from a Duane Read nearby. Technically it wasn't right but I didn't oppose because I didn't feel that it was all that morally wrong and we made a lot of good memories.

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  3. 1. I can't for the life of me remember a time were a consequence came with a discipline as a kid. As a kid, the threat of a consequence was enough to set me strait.

    2. It wasn't really uncomfortable or comfortable in the discussions, I hadn't a opinion on the sweatshirts or privileges just if we got them or not. It was just another normal class for me.

    3. I can't recall if I was ever in a situation like that either. As a kid and still now I don't really hang out with people out of school, or just see people in person, I just don't go out with friends get into situations like those.

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  4. 1) This has happened a few times.I might not agree with them in the moment, but I then realize that they are just doing what's best and are trying to help me. After that happens I tell them what happens and try to make things better.

    2) No, it was not comfortable to be with people who disagreed. I knew that I was not going to get what I wanted, but I didn't want the sweatshirt to be bad. But in the end, we agreed on a sweatshirt that is pretty neat.

    3) I was in a hotel for a soccer tournament with my team and some of them were doing bad stuff. I didn't do what they were doing, but I was still hanging with them. I did not rat them out because you shouldn't tell on your friends but I knew they were doing something wrong.

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  5. 1) I have gotten a consequence for standing up for myself when I really was right. I learned good from that though because I learned what I'm not supposed to do. I learned right from it and what I'm supposed to do and not to do.

    2) It really wasn't comfortable to be in the room when we were discussing sweatshirts. People all had their own opinion on it and had a lot of suggestions. We had to agree on one idea and it was really hard.

    3) In a time when someone was doing something really good for them I did what was right for myself. There were people that were being disrespectful to someone. I stood up for them and my self. I took them out of the situation and just left it.

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  6. A time where my parents disciplined me with a consequence was when I got a bad grade on a test and they took my electronics away from me for the week. I didn't agree with them at the time but the consequence came with a lot of benefits. I started studying more and I got better grades over time.

    I was comfortable discussing sweatshirts and privileges with my class because even though they might disagree with me, they respect my opinions and I respect theirs. I have been with most of my peers since pre-k and kindergarten so I'm comfortable with them. I wasn't happy with my sweatshirt initially, but I knew my opinion was a minority of the class and if they were happy with the hoodies, then I was happy with them.

    My friends have done some unnecessary things. One day I was hanging out with some friends when they stared to poke fun at one of us. We normally do this just to be funny and as a joke but things stared escalating and the insults stared to cut deep. I told them that those insults are really mean. Everyone came to their senses and we all stopped with the insults. It was uncomfortable at first to stick up for my friend because a lot more people are against you. Most people would go with the crowd and join in, in the name calling but I stuck up for my friend.

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  7. 1. There was a time where I have gotten a consequence, and I may not have agreed with my parents. They took away my electronics for not doing what they asked. At first I thought that I had done nothing wrong, but I later realized that I had actually done something wrong. This made me realize that I need to listen to them, and not do whatever I want.

    2. It wasn't really uncomfortable when disagreeing with my classmates. I am pretty good at sticking with my point, so I do not feel uncomfortable with arguing. After the discussions I realized that one thing would happen whether I liked it or not.

    3. Sometimes, my friends do things that are not right, and I know that we might get in trouble. Usually, I just try to leave the situation because if I leave I won't get in trouble. To me, I did do what was right because I un-involved myself in the situation that I shouldn't have been in. It was uncomfortable for me to do what was right because I felt awkward just leaving them, but I knew it was the right thing to do, so I did it anyway.

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  8. 1. In the past, there has been a couple times that I have disagreed with my parents about something. One time I didn't really agree with what my parents were saying so I was grounded for a week because I argued with them even though I probably shouldn't have and just moved on. i think this situation or conseqence helped me because the next time I disagree with my parents, I will try to disagree appropriatly or ask why they are saying that so I do not get myself in trouble by arguing with them.

    2. I wasn't necessarily uncomfortable talking with my classmates about sweatshirts or privaleges. I think it was frusterating at some points when people wanted to mess around and not think about how it was going to look and didn't really care about what others opinions were on what colors it should be. Honestly in the end though, everyone came together to make a decision on the sweatshirt/privliges and it turned out to be a pretty cool sweatshirt and also fun privliges to have with all said and done.

    3. There have been quite a few times in the past where people were not being responsible and not doing the right thing for themsleves or others. A time that this has happened is at my friends house. i tried to do the right thing by telling them not to do anything stupid that will get us into trouble like messing around on a neighbors yard or going around ding-dong ditching on some people's doors that we don't know or don't like to be bothered at night. I tried to stand up for what is right only because I don't want to get in trouble not only with our parents but the neighbors that we might of been disturbing and they could also call the police if they felt like they were being disruppted in a bad way. When I tried to do the right thing, I sort of felt uncomforable but not really because i knew that what I was doing was right so I think I felt proud of myself for doing the right thing.

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  9. 1. A time were I had a consequence for discipline is when I get apps taken away. sometimes when I don't quite have my priorities straight. I have had snapchat and instagram taken away. It is very annoying when you have certain apps taken away because you can't be in the same routine you usually are in and you can't communicate with your friends. The positive thing I got from getting apps taken away is that I am more involved with my family and in the world.

    2. It makes me feel self conscience and uncomfortable when I have an opinion that doesn't match my friends. It is very embarrassing when you put out an idea and everyone laughs at you. in the end the disagreements and discussions turned into great sweatshirts and privileges that we will hopefully be happy with.

    3. There are times when I have witnessed my friends making unsmart choices. I didn't participate because I didn't want to be like that, but I also didn't rat them out. I did suggest that they should stop but that didn't work out. I am glad that I didn't get caught up with that.

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  10. 1. A time when I had a consequence for discipline was when I will make somethings more important than others. If I am doing homework and I get a notification, sometimes I will just ignore it but other times I will check it and find my self just sitting on my phone. My parents notice and then they will take my phone or computer away for sometime. At the time I was really mad and didn't understand why. Now I understand that it made me finish my homework and be productive and not waste time on my phone.

    2. During sweatshirts I wanted a different color than others wanted. Some of my friends didn't want the color also so then I felt uncomfortable. With privileges I had basically the same ideas as everyone else. I think that in the end we had a good color for the sweatshirts and we had some good ideas for privileges.

    3. I have witnessed family and friends make bad decisions. With my friends I was invited to hang out with them but heard that we were going to do something I didn't want to be a part of. I told them that I didn't want to hang out and I felt uncomfortable about it. I told them that it isn't a good a idea and then eventually their plans with it didn't work out. I feel better now that I made a good decision.

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  11. 1. This has happened multiple times to me. There are rules in our house that I don't agree with and when I don't follow those rules I feel that the consequences are a little harsh. I get I should follow the rules but I shouldn't have such harsh consequences.

    2. When choosing sweatshirt color I felt kind of uncomfortable with it. There may have been a color I likes and then people would say that hated it and thought it was ugly and it made me uncomfortable to vote. For the privileges I think that everyone had the same ideas for it so it really was not that bad.

    3. There have been times I have witnesses my friends making bad decisions. Me and my friends were running around and me and a friend thought what they were doing was a bad idea but they didn't really seem to care. One of the got mad at me for it and ran of. I knew what she did was bad and our parents ended finding out later that night. I didn't get in trouble because I told the truth but my friend didn't and it backfired. I think I made the right decision.

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  12. 1. I get in trouble all the time for being on my phone and doing others things before I do homework. My mom always takes it and it gets me off of it and helps me stay focused while doing homework or studying. Still, in the moment it’s frustrating, but after a while I feel a lot more accomplished.

    2. It wasn’t uncomfortable for me while discussing sweatshirts and privileges. Sometimes there were things I found to be dumb, but I remembered that it isn’t all about one person, it’s about everyone. It helped me learn more about making decisions as a group and sharing ideas.

    3. My cousins were over for a party and normally I don’t hang out with them because my parents think they are bad news and not good for my sister and I to be around them. I wasn’t hanging out with them but I saw them bring a bottle of alcohol out into the alley, pour it, and saw them drinking it. I didn’t tell them I told, but I told my mom and she figured it out. I felt uncomfortable and like a tattle-tale, but in the end I think it was a good decision.

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  13. 1.I wake up at 6:30 in the morning to get ready for school but most of the time I don't get up right away and I take forever to ready so we are late for school and my mom gets mad at me. She grounds me the next night and says I can't have my phone. I feel like it isn't that bad but at the same time it doesn't change how fast I get up in the morning.
    2. I was not there for privileges but I read them later and I agreed with them all. But when we were choosing sweatshirts because I really didn't care what color we choose except for a couple of colors. Some people thought it was a good idea to voice their opinion louder then others and didn't realize that it wasn't just about what they wanted. Some people thought that they were better than other peoples ideas and it was really annoying.

    3. There was a time where me and my friends were hanging out and something happened. My one friend said she forgot something some where and went back to fix the situation. I didn't know it appended until the person that caused the situation later told me. I was very frustrated because there was no reason to even start the situation. My other two friends that were with me at the time of the situation and the time I found out about what happened tried to talk to this person about it and she wouldn't take it seriously.I told my mom and she was very upset.

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  14. I have had a lot of consequences. One of which was when I get a bad grade on a test or assignment. When this happens my parents will take my phone away and then I can usually focus more on studying.

    I was comfortable while having these discussions. I was comfortable because I have known my classmates for three years now. That is why I was comfortable having this discussion.

    The time that this happened was when I was playing baseball. People on my team were not being responsible by not caring when I car a lot about it. After this happened I told my coach about and said he will make a change but nothing has changed.

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  15. 1. I receive a consequence when I don't do the important things first. One example is when I don't do my homework on Friday night. My parents advise me to use my time wisely and when I don't, I get something taken away until I do it. I can see why they do this. They do this to make me use my time wisely and to help me with my grades and for the future.

    2. While discussing sweatshirts and privileges, I did not feel uncomfortable. I did, however, feel stressed out and frustrated. I do not like it when people act like they know everything. I like things to be accomplished in an organized manner and I didn't feel like that was what the discussion was. From being in that situation, I have learned to just know that everyone has their own opinion and way of doing things.

    3. I have witnessed someone make the wrong decision. They told me all about the choice they made and I had no choice but to tell my parents. When I told my mom, she didn't think the situation was harmful to this person. She told me to just help the person make the right choices and if things got worse, to tell her. Later, I told this person that the things they were doing were not right. We talked about it and this person hasn't made the same bad choice since then. I felt kind of uncomfortable talking to this person because I was telling them not to do something. I realized that it was only for the best though.

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  16. 1. I was at my dad’s and I was upset that I couldn’t find my charger because my aunt had used it. I was upset and my attitude was not in check. I was told that I could not charge my phone overnight. I was not happy. I realized that I should have my attitude appropriate for something as unimportant as a phone. I make sure that I don't get mad about the little things such as my phone.

    2. Discussing sweatshirt wasn't that bad because eventually we all just said ok fine let's do this one bc there was no use in fighting and we all had to agree at some point. There was nothing wrong with privileges other than a few ideas that we knew Ms. Z would say no. Some good that came out of discussions is that it all brought us a little closer and we were able to stretch our imagination.

    3. There was a time where my friends were choosing to do something that they shouldn’t. I told them no but the just brushed me off. I told them why it wasn’t right and said that I would not follow along. I said that we need to think about why we shouldn’t be doing this and I told them to stop. It was uncomfortable because I was the only person who was against what was happening.

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  17. 1.There has been multiple times that my parents have disciplined me with a consequence. One thing that they will do is take my phone away and my computer and playstation for certain reasons, i usually don't agree with the reason. Even though I don't like when they do things like that I think that I hang out with my family more and am around them more.

    2. I was comfortable when discussing these topics. Mainly for privileges I liked all the ideas that were put out for the most part. For sweatshirts yes their was a certain color that I wanted and I think that it would've looked better but apparently white gets to dirty so after that I really didn't care what happened.

    3. I tried to remove myself from the situation. If I did do anything it would've been telling them that what they were doing was wrong. It wasn't uncomfortable to do what was right if they don't wanna listen to me I really could care less its their life and their decisions not mine.

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  18. 1.I received a consequence when I was disrespectful to the referees at my game. I did not agree with the consequence I was given at the time, but it helped me realized that no one is perfect and we should respect all people no matter what.

    2.I was perfectly comfortable in class when people disagreed with things I liked. At the end of the day we are a class and need to come to an agreement. It is hard to fully satisfy everyone.

    3. I have witnessed my teammates making fun of coaches and other teammates. I knew that that was wrong so I told them to stop and to think of how much that person has benefited them over the years.

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  19. I have gotten in trouble a lot of times but one time was when my mom and I got into a fight and my parents wouldn't hear me out. My dad took my phone away and now that I look back on it I see why they did what they did.

    I was comfortable having the discussions about privileges and sweatshirts because I have known these people for a while now. I might not agree with some of the choices that they make but I feel like good did come out of it.

    There was this one time when my friend did something that I really didn't agree with what they were doing. I tried to talk them out of it but they wouldn't listen to me so i had to stop being their friend.

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  20. There has been many times that my parents have disciplined me with a consequence. Usually when I get grounded my parents will take my phone and playstation away. I don't agree and like that they do this but it brings me closer to my family.

    I was completely fine in class when people didn't agree with what I liked. Everyone likes different things. We are all one class and if someones agrees with it the whole class gets it.

    One time I was with a couple friends and they were doing things that weren't the best and I told them to stop. They listened to me and then thought about what they were going to do and thanked me later for it and helping them not get in trouble.

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  21. 1. I get in trouble for being on my phone before I do my homework. I check one thing on my phone then it turns into going on this app then another. My parents notice and then they will take my phone away. I got mad at the moment. But then I realized I would have probably got nothing done if I would have still had it.

    2. I felt comfortable when we were talking about sweatshirts because I really didn't care, I just wanted us to decide so we could order them and get them soon. And with privileges I had the same ideas as everyone else. I think that in the end I like how the sweatshirts turned out and we had good ideas for privileges.

    3. There are times when I have seen my friends making bad choices. I told them that the things they were doing were not okay. It was uncomfortable for me to have to stand up to them and tell them. But i'm glad I said something to them.

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  22. There aren’t many times I have been punished for my actions. If I did something they would just confront me. They will just tell me not to do what I did again. I will most likely listen, or not do it around them.

    It was a little uncomfortable, but I need to get used to it, because it will happen many more times in life. The good thing was that we all came to a compromise. We also all started to like everyones ideas for privileges, and started agreeing for things on hoodies.

    I have never gotten into a situation like that. I don’t hang out with people who do anything like that. If I ever got in a situation like that I am usually the person who wouldn’t stop them, but stop hanging out with them. I am not brave enough to confront them.

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  23. 1. A time I was disciplined by my parents is when I am studying for a test or doing homework. I get in trouble for being on my phone while I am studying or doing homework. They will most likely will take my phone away, and when they do, I always get a lot done.

    2. When we were talking about sweatshirts or privileges, I felt comfortable. I just knew that we needed to get the stuff done and if everyone would have been arguing or causing a lot of chaos it wouldn't have gotten done. In the end of both situations, everything ended up working out good.

    3. I have been in situation where my friends weren't doing the right thing. Sometimes its hard to leave the situation because everyone is caught up in the moment. I did ended up leaving the situation and I tried to help my friends get out of the situations as well. At first I was a little scared to say something because I didn't want to seem lame but I am very happy that I said something and got us all out of that situation.

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  24. 1. A time when I was disciplined by my parents is when my sister and I are arguing. We both got sent to our rooms. I didn't really see much of a point beside we both calmed down.

    2. When we were talking about sweatshirts and privileges, I felt comfortable. I knew we all could agree on something.

    3. I can't recall a situation like this at the moment.

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