A Vibrant Picture

Is there such a thing as objectively good?

If there is, we're in constant pursuit of it. It's safe to say we're always chasing "an objective good thing" across many areas of life, whether we realize it or not.

Artists want their work to be recognized as good. Writers strive for that feeling of reading through a piece one last time and thinking, "This is it." Musicians refine and record time and again, hoping someone might hear their song and ask, "Who is this? It's good." Businesses work to avoid losses and red numbers in favor of more green, in the name of doing good business.

And this is good. It's all good. It should be good. But there's a fear worth naming: that our constant striving for good can become the building of idols unto gods that can never be reached.

If we're always striving, gritting our teeth at whatever we deem "bad" or "not what we wanted," we build a habit of never being content with what we have or where we are. Maybe we need to accept that sometimes what we imagine is good for us is the very thing keeping us stuck in our ways, not progressing in the areas that matter.

This year has tested a perspective many of us hold. It's been a season of learning to be grateful for where we currently stand, creatively, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, even when that gratitude arrives as a reality check we didn't ask for. For months, we can carry a fixed idea of what's good for the work and for the life around it. But often, if that imagined good had actually arrived, it would have left us more challenged, not less. What gets dreamt up as the best case scenario can turn out to be a facade, while the harder thing endured proves itself to be objectively good.

So what does this mean for our cultural hunt for objective good? How do we tear down the idols we've constructed unto false good, "our good," which in reality is often just selfish want disguised as essential need?

We abandon our ideals. We accept that sometimes life, people, opportunity, effort, or God Himself will tell us exactly what we should strive for.

Artists need to be selfless. Writers need to give themselves slack. Musicians need to stop and appreciate their efforts. Businesspeople need to accept losses in stride.

Because often, an outsider's perspective is a picture far more vibrant than anything we had imagined for ourselves.