There seem to be a lot of different ideas about what makes someone a "good person." Sometimes I'm intrigued by people's judgments of others, and sometimes I'm very confused and disturbed by them. I've heard people refer to someone as a good person for some pretty petty reasons, while ignoring massive infractions.
My idea of what makes someone a "good person" has to do with a couple of factors. To me, integrity is always first and foremost. A person is only as good as their word. If someone constantly breaks promises, violates commitments, cheats on their significant other, steals, etc.. They have shown themselves to be untrustworthy. I don't see how someone can be a good person without a track record of integrity. This also includes commitment to a moral code of conduct in my book. For example, a person who says that they are a Christian but sleeps around really doesn't have much integrity, since they're not being honest with themselves.
The 2nd main factor that I feel makes someone a good person is their kindness and charity. Everybody loses their cool and says some mean things from time to time.. but I feel that those for whom this isn't the norm are "good people." People who try their best to be understanding and unselfish qualify as kind. Charity is important too, because that's a very real form of pure giving and unselfishness.
For those of us who are Christian, there is a scriptural basis for the idea to avoid labeling people as "good people" or "bad people" altogether. However, I think that if we're all honest with ourselves, we do it to an extent.
What makes a "good" or "bad" person in your book?
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