IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE GOOD WHEN ALL ABOUT YOU ARE PLAYING HARD BALL TO GET AHEAD NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES?

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE GOOD WHEN ALL ABOUT YOU ARE PLAYING HARD BALL TO GET AHEAD NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES?

"Amid the prosperity of the wicked, how hard it is to keep the flock focused". These are the words taken took from a homily by one great priest I know. Indeed when all about you are losing their heads and disregarding or rather arm-twisting the law and bending the rules just to make a buck and be successful it is hard to stay focused and be led by the goodness instilled and cultured in you since your childhood and positive upbringing by one's parents and guardians.

The question therefore as the topic says; "Is it possible to be good when all about you are playing hard ball and doing whatever it takes?"
The honest and true answer is that as much as it is hard without a doubt because we are human and we are fallible, YES! It is possible to be good, to be kind, to be respectful and maintain one's integrity amidst all the crazy action
happening around as everyone seeks to get ahead by hook or by crook.
What it means though is that we have to be prepared to pass over and walk away from many a seemingly good irresistible deal when we are fully aware of its cons and downsides where the deal prospers us to somebody else's detriment. If one decides to do good and be good it is like being a sheep going into wolf and jackal infested territories, however one learns to be no ordinary sheep but an enlightened and wise one knowing how to manoeuvre and navigate the space by understanding the wolves and jackals themselves and their mentalities. "Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16 KJV)


Having done all that there is no guarantee that the world will be kind back at you none at all! Sad hey? but true, your kindness maybe
misunderstood for weakness and abused, one can be deceived, betrayed, thrown under the bus and even completely hung out to dry and left for dead!

However your real character and strength shows up and shores you up when you remain resolute in the face of all that negativity. You dig deeper and connect with your unshakeable faith, recalibrate your mind and energy to find your true north and still rise up to be the good person you will be.

We always have a choice between good and bad, right and wrong without exception, always. Choices must be conscious, personal and informed.
Doing good as much as it edifies and benefits others, it is mainly for you the individual to ground yourself, for your peace of mind and growth as a person.

It's never okay to do other people wrong just because you were done wrong, doing right by others enables us to get peaceful and rejuvenating sleep. Our mind does not need to put us in the dock each time we lay our head on the pillow when all the lights go out and sounds die down bringing to the fore all our skeletons and litanies of charges against us condemning us without mercy because we can never hide anything from ourselves. The tears and lamentations of all those we would have knowingly prejudiced and unduly hurt seem to echo louder and louder as we attempt to sleep.

Therefore being good is a worthwhile life mission whether one is spiritual or not. It makes for courtesy and harmonious existence
among people everywhere. It is always a good example to the impressionable, young and delicate  minds of our children who emulate our actions more than they heed the words we say to them. They are
better positioned to heed our words if we the adults walk the talk.

So the multiplier effects and positive externalities of being a good person and citizen are infinite and worthwhile no matter how attractive being negative and inclined to wrong for material gain may seem.

THE GOLDEN WORD FOUNTAIN - (TGWF)