He Has Done All Things Well

He Has Done All Things Well.  G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), the English humorist, journalist, and apologist, wrote several famous books in his prestigious career including, What’s Wrong with the World (1910). The inception for that book, apparently, was a short letter that Chesterton received at The Times when he was editor: “What’s wrong with the world today?” His short reply to the question was classy and classically Chestertonian: “Dear Sir, I am. Yours, G. K. Chesterton.” His book was the product of answering that question more fully. As Chesterton was known to do, simultaneously tying knots in some while untying knots in others, he wrote in this book: “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.”

All the perfectionists in the audience probably suffered a visceral reaction to Chesterton’s line, but his reasoning holds true. Chesterton, at the end of Part Four, Chapter 14, Education: Or the Mistake about the Child, defended the informal education of children by non-professional teachers precisely because those teachers, usually mothers, are non-professionals. Professionals, he argued, tend to become specialists and grow loveless in their expertise. Mothers, however, are first and foremost loving, making their attempt at the education of their children better, even if their style might be worse than a professional’s. Chesterton’s principle obliterates perfectionism. Performance does not establish worth.

Here we find a bridge to the Bible. When Jesus was constantly evaluated by the religious leaders, their conclusion was that, since he was different than they were, then he must be evil. “He is possessed by Beelzebul … by the prince of demons he casts out the demons” (Mark 3:22). But when Jesus was constantly evaluated by the common people, their conclusion was that, since he was different than they were, then he must be good. “He has done all things well” (Mark 7:37). Goodness is a moral category; it is an internal virtue akin to righteousness. The opposite of goodness is evil. Excellence is a practical category; it is an external quality akin to appropriateness. The opposite of excellence is badness. Thus, someone could perform his duties excellently but be evil. Equally, someone could perform his duties badly but be good.

Humans, whether ancient or modern, dangerously conflate goodness and excellence. We celebrate excellence but neglect goodness. Pop songs inaccurately sing that if it feels this good then it might be right. Moralists wrongly connect a favorable turn of events to a good deed done in the past. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day falsely assumed that they were morally good because they acted appropriately.

Jesus gave playful commentary on the true nature of goodness, indirectly asserting his own divine status. “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). Jesus is both. He is good and he did all things excellently, the only one able safely to conflate goodness and excellence in his own person!