What makes someone a “good person”?
The world has a lot to say on that. Help the poor. Don’t lie. Don’t hurt people. Be kind. Recycle. Fight injustice. Mind your own business. Smile. Be nice.
Different cultures, worldviews, and religions all have their own versions of goodness. Buddhism teaches the Noble Eightfold Path. Islam teaches submission to Allah and adherence to the Five Pillars. Secular humanism often promotes empathy, reason, and the well-being of others as its moral compass. Even atheists tend to agree on a moral baseline—don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t harm others.
Philosophers, too, have spent centuries digging into what makes life meaningful and good. Aristotle said human flourishing comes from practicing virtue. Kant believed moral law comes from rational duty. Nietzsche challenged all traditional values, claiming we must create our own meaning. Jean-Paul Sartre, the existentialist, insisted that we are condemned to be free and must define ourselves through action, even in a seemingly meaningless world.
But if these frameworks for being “good” are enough, why does the world still feel so empty?
Why, in our modern, enlightened, hyper-connected age, is anxiety at an all-time high? Why are so many searching, striving, and burning out in the name of being a “good person”? If all these roads lead to the same destination—peace, purpose, fulfillment—why are so many of us stuck in restlessness?
C.S. Lewis offers a different lens. In his classic work Mere Christianity, Lewis wrote:
“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
Lewis argued that humans were created not merely to be morally good, but to live in deep relationship with the God who made them. He believed that every person is made for something greater than self-improvement or cultural virtue—we are made for God’s glory.
The Bible tells us the same thing:
“Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
—Isaiah 43:7 (ESV)
You were not made just to be a nice person. You were made to glorify God—to reflect His goodness, His holiness, His love, and His truth into the world.
That’s the standard.
Not how many good deeds you’ve done.
Not how enlightened or tolerant you are.
Not how many people think you’re moral, generous, or kind.
Not even how much you think you’ve followed your conscience.
The measure of your life is how it brings glory to God.
Every other form of “goodness” eventually fades. Good reputations are forgotten. Empires fall. Generational influence disappears. Even self-made legacies crumble over time. But a life lived for the glory of God is eternally significant.
Jesus didn’t die to make bad people good. He died to bring dead people to life. And life—real, vibrant, eternal life—is found only in Him. Through His Spirit, He empowers us not just to live morally, but to live meaningfully—for His name, His kingdom, and His purposes.
This should shape everything we do. How we love our neighbor. How we serve the poor. How we raise our kids, do our jobs, spend our money, and treat strangers. Not because we’re trying to check off moral boxes, but because we’re aiming at a different target: God’s glory.
So next time someone asks, “Am I a good person?”—consider a foundational criteria.
“Are you living for the reason you were made?”
