Does being good take away from the joy of life?

 

July 13, 2025

Today’s first reading is about the commandments that God gives his people and we are told that we are called to “obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law”. It further goes on to tell us that surely what God is commanding is not going to be too hard for us.

Despite that assurance, there is a is a general perception that the moral commandments take away all the fun out of life. This is because the moral commandments are seen as demanding  that we behave in ways that go against the grain, against the natural inclinations of human beings.

But is that really true?  Listen to my parable of “The Clock and the Clock-maker”:

There once was a clock-maker, who like Geppetto of Pinocchio fame, could give life to the clocks he made. And so one day, one of his clocks came to him and asked him: Listen, I understand that you have made me a clock. And so you must be having certain expectations from me. So what are those expectations? I need to know so that I can fulfil those and then get along with the rest of my life.

So the clock-maker told him: Well, I have only one expectation. I want you to be happy and fulfilled.

How can that be all that you want?, answered the clock. You sure you don’t want me to worship you, to praise you, to thank you, fulfil certain commandments, etc ?

No, said the clock-maker, just be happy and fulfilled.

You are sure about this, insisted the clock. I wish you would tell me now what exactly is on your mind, and not tell me later when I am fully involved in my life. It is better you tell me right now and I can integrate your demands into my life.

No, really, I do not have any demands of you – except if you want to call it that, the demand that you be happy and fulfilled, and live to your full potential, answered the clock-maker.

Well, then, said the clock, thinking, perhaps then I should like to be a hammer. Yes, that’s right. In this world it is a question of survival of the fittest, and so I would rather be a hammer than a nail. A hammer is always on top of things. What do you think?

The clock maker kept quiet. But the clock insisted: Do tell me what you think of this idea. You don’t seem too thrilled by my choice of what I want to become.

Well, said the clock maker, if you ask me, I think, considering what you are made of, the delicacy of your inner workings, I would say that if you tried to become a hammer, you are definitely going to hurt yourself.

That’s true, said the clock. I did not think of that. Ok, well I must not hurt myself in trying to become what I want to become. Ah, I’ve got it. I will become a paper-weight. That’s right. There is no way I could hurt myself becoming a paper-weight.

Ahem, ahem, mumbled the clockmaker. Could I say something?

Of course, of course. But surely you cannot say that I would hurt myself becoming a paper-weight.

Well, yes and no, said the clock maker. You would not hurt yourself in the same manner as you would if you were to try to function as a hammer. But do you think you would be fulfilling your own potential. I mean, you would be just sitting there the whole day, when you could do so much more. In that sense, aren’t you hurting yourself, by killing your own potential? 

This is the problem, said the clock. Any idea I come up with, you have some problem with it. Perhaps secretly you want me to come and praise you and worship you and stuff like that – but you won’t admit that.

No, no, that is certainly not what I want, insisted the clock maker. I just want you to be happy and fulfilled.

Ok, let me consider what you said about the boring life I would have to live if I tried to become a paper-weight. Let us see. You say I should choose something in which I could express my full potential. Perhaps I should become a pen – in that way I could express myself and write books on what is within me. What do you think of that?

The clock maker felt a little embarrassed. It did seem like he was finding fault repeatedly, but he just couldn’t control himself. Listen, he said, you had the possibility of being a hammer, because you had some metal parts and though you would hurt yourself, at least there was a possibility of being that, at least for some time. And so too with your idea of becoming a paper-weight. You have the weight for that. But to want to become a PEN. You don’t have the capability to become that. Where is your nib, where is your ink, how can you become a pen?

By this time the clock was getting frustrated. So he blurted out: OK oh great and wise creator of me, said the clock sarcastically, you tell me what should I become – since you find  fault with every suggestion I offer.

The clock-maker hesitated, but the clock insisted. No, he said, I won’t let you go. You have to tell me – what should I become? Are you scared that I will find some fault with your suggestions just as you found so many faults with mine? And so he insisted and insisted.

Finally the clock maker relented and said: Well, isn’t it obvious? You should strive to become a clock, the best clock you can be.

The clock was struck dumb. It was so obvious. He couldn’t find fault with that. Why didn’t he think of that? But then he turned his gaze inwards and looked at his own inner workings and realised that getting all those parts to work together in synchronicity would be difficult. And so he turned to the clock maker and said: That seems like a very good suggestion... But... but I am not sure I know how to put all these various parts within myself to work together in harmony. So could you tell me, show me, how it is done.

And so the clock-maker finally said: OK, I will become a clock like you and show you how to function well as a clock, in a manner that makes you happy and fulfilled.

That last response of the clock-maker of course ties in with the Christian understanding of incarnation, the Hindu understanding of the avatars of Vishnu, and the special call to what it means to be God’s people that came out of Moses' and Mohammad's experience of the Ultimate Reality.

So what should a human being become ?  Well, like a clock is called to be the best clock it can be, every human being is called to become the best human being that he/she can become.

But in a complicated and complex world, this is easier said than done. And so religious geniuses through their immediate experience of the Ultimate Reality, get insights into what it means to be truly fulfilled as a human being. And by sharing these insights (teachings) with their fellow travellers on this life journey, they teach those aspects of what it means to be human, if one must be in harmony with oneself, assuring their followers that by doing that, they would automatically become fulfilled as humans, and in harmony with this ultimate reality. This “becoming fully human” is what the ethical imperative is all about and this is intrinsic to our human person-hood, not something arbitrary. So the moral rules or ethical rules are not about going against the grain of being a fulfilled and happy human being, but an articulation of what it means to become a fulfilled and happy human being.

In this regard we must make a distinction between the ethical imperative and the social imperative.  The social imperative deals with the garb of customs and traditions that do not necessarily impinge on what it means to be human, but only on what it means to make it easier to live together in society. Thus driving on the left or right side of the road is a social imperative, not an ethical imperative. Wearing this kind of garb or that in church or a temple is not an ethical imperative, but just a social practice that makes it easier for people not to be distracted in their attempt to participate in certain aspects of religious worship. To take another example from daily life, walking around the streets in one’s undergarments is socially unacceptable, but not ethically wrong. Yet walking around in a bikini (i.e. what amounts to one’s undergarments) or even nude, on a beach may be socially acceptable, and again is also neither ethically right or wrong.

And it is precisely this that Jesus tried to insist upon and why he got into so many arguments with the religious authorities of his time.  There were many social imperatives that were disguised as religious imperatives (circumcision, purification rituals, eating of special kinds of food, etc) - and while he did not completely deny the need for some of those, he certainly drew the line at allowing such social imperatives to over-ride ethical imperatives.  The Sabbath was made for human beings, not the other way around, was an essential part of his approach to morality or ethics.

It is also true that our understanding of what it means to be human is itself a pilgrimage, and what we have learnt over the centuries is also that we have much to learn from other ‘clocks’ who have each stressed a particular way of being clock - whether it is Buddha, or Rama, or Krishna or Jesus, or Mohammad or any of the other religious geniuses that have shown us from their experiences of the divine as to what it means to be human.

 

First Reading: Deuteronomy 30: 10-14

When you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

“Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’  Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’  No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

Second Reading: Colossians 1: 15-20

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.  He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Gospel: Luke 10: 25-37

An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”  He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’  Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”