Goodness is not merely a moral option; it is the existential necessity of the human being. To neglect it is a silent sin committed against both ourselves and the world or life.

True faith is not completed by merely staying away from evil; it matures with the courage to do the known goodness. For postponed goodness more often than not becomes goodness never done. And goodness left undone remains as an invisible sin woven into the soul of the human being.

One of the wise pens of Syriac culture, Mor Isaac of Nineveh (7th century), views the negligence of goodness as a spiritual loss: "The person who knows goodness yet fails to do it oppresses not only their sibling but their own soul as well. For negligence breeds a petrified insensitivity in the heart."

Therefore, failing to do goodness is a petrification that blunts the subtlety of the soul. Goodness is not just necessary, it is imperative: it is like a breath that keeps the heart alive and protects it from hardness. Goodness is too vital and precious to be neglected.

The Silent Sin of Goodness

This sentence from the epistle of Saint James expresses the existential responsibility of the human being in its simplest form: "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin" (James 4: 17).

This expression reminds us of the following: sin is not solely about doing evil. The human being diminishes with every goodness they know yet fail to do. Because goodness is not just a moral duty, but at the same time a need that keeps the soul of the human being alive. The soul breathes through goodness; it remains alive through goodness.

The Ontological Aspect of Goodness

Goodness is the most fundamental obligation engraved upon the existence of the human being. For the human being is human not only with their intellect, but also with their conscience. The silence of conscience distances the human being from their own essence. Therefore, knowing goodness and not doing it is not merely a societal deficiency, but an existential alienation.

Saint Mor Ephrem (306–373) says: "The opportunity for goodness is like the light of the sun; if you do not accept it when it rises, you remain in darkness when it disappears."

When goodness is postponed, it loses its light; what is lost is not merely an opportunity, but the inner illumination of the human being.

The Light and Legacy of Goodness

Mor Narsai (399–502) expresses this truth as follows: "The Supreme God gives goodness to the human being like a seed. The one who does not sow it into the soil cannot see its harvest."

Beyond being an individual responsibility, goodness is a legacy left to the collective future. Goodness left unsown is a bounty stolen from the future.

For this reason, goodness is imperative: it both purifies the present and nourishes the future. Because goodness is the essence of life; it is the light that brightens existence, the breath that revivifies the heart, and the reality that reminds the human being of their humanity.

Consequently, goodness is the heart of human existence. Without it, the heart does not beat, and life loses its meaning.

Yusuf Beğtaş