Lessons From Mere Christianity: Virtue

This is a post from my topic called Lessons From Mere Christianity.

In writing about virtue (and more specifically, virtuous actions), CS Lewis makes an interesting distinction between the things that we do and the person that we actually are. He writes:

"There is a different between doing some particular just or temperate action and being a just or temperate man." (79)

That is an interesting thought. I think this is also another reason why we cannot judge others. We generally will judge a person based on their actions, but that does not always speak to their character, and the type of person that they really are. At the same time, be careful not to become prideful if you perform a benevolent action, for to God the most important thing is the type of person we are.

In the same vein, we must be sure that we are doing things for the right reasons. Lewis writes:

"But the truth is that right actions done for the wrong reason do not help to build the internal quality or character called a 'virtue,' and it is this quality or character that really matters." (80)

The popular phrase is "fake it 'til you make it," and I fully endorse this strategy. However, it only works if you work on actually making it. That is, if you work on actually acquiring the virtue rather than continuing to fake it.

Let's take an example. Let's say that you only help out old ladies at the grocery store when there is someone around to see the good that you are doing. On the one hand, it is good to help old ladies at the grocery store, and so this is a positive thing, even though you are only doing it for the attention. Now, let's say you never moved onto helping old ladies in the grocery store because it was the right thing to do, and simply only did it when there was someone there to witness it, would you be better off as a person, and would you be a person of higher character because you helped when others were watching? I would argue no.

In short, if we truly want to become the best that we can be, we must perform the just and temperate actions, but we must also pray for a full conversion of the heart to be a virtuous person. If we do not put both parts together, all of our efforts will eventually be futile. Fake it 'til you make, but be certain that you are actually working to make it in the end.