"I'm a good person", that's how it starts. The belief that I'm a good person and that I don't need God to be a good person. And then I justify how I'm loving to the people around me, honest, loyal and all of my wonderful qualities that add up to "a good person".
I slip just a little now and then, but who doesn't? Then I start comparing myself to others worse than me, and I justify well at least I'm not as bad as that! At least I'm not stealing, at least I'm not abusing my children, at least I care about people, at least, at least, at least...and I drop the bar lower and lower.
So then I don't feel so bad when I use sex as recreation. I've done all of the pre-work in my head to ensure that my personal enjoyment and fulfillment is deserved! After all, I'm a good person and I'm not as bad as that one. Until I have conceived an "inconvenient" baby, and now all that justification, I'm a good person, I'm a good person, I'm a good person, all the way to the abortionist. An innocent life is taken, I'm a killer.
There is an alternative. Instead of setting the bar so low and comparing myself to others worse than me, I can raise the bar and strive to be as good as the really good people, the ones that set a very good example for living a truly good and loving life. What does that look like? Well I can tell you it doesn't look like just about anything you'll see on TV or in the cultural media.
The "Holy Women"who have walked this earth before us can show us the way. Their life may at first glance not look as glamorous as the lives of those portrayed on the big screen, but these Holy Women have found fulfillment, joy and eternal reward in all walks and capacities of life.
http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Women-Pope-Benedict-XVI/dp/1612785107/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323173825&sr=1-1
The Holy Women lead us to God. And God reveals for us His plan for our happiness. His plan is not a life of restriction, no fun, live in the doldrums while everyone else is at the party. His plan is a life of freedom and true choice, with clear, wide open eyes of love!
