Synod School of Discipleship Week 2
Be Happy - Imitate God
“Be holy, for I am holy” - Leviticus 19:2
Throughout Leviticus, God tells the Israelite people to be holy just like Him. This seems like an impossible task. Why can’t God just give the Israelites everything they need and then they’d be happy? Why do we have to be like God?
In Plato’s Republic, Glaucon tells Socrates that the only reason people are good is because they are too weak to do evil. Morality, according to Glaucon, is a fool’s game, made by the weak to hold down the strong. He argues, if you could kill the king, take his land, and power and have no negative repercussions, why wouldn’t you? You only don’t because you know someone will probably retaliate. Happiness, according to Glaucon, is about having the power to get what you want.
Socrates responds even if one could kill the king, take his land, and power, that person would still not be happy. An evil person can never be happy because happiness is about who you are. To be truly happy, you must become the type of person who does good for the sake of doing good. These habitual acts of goodness are called virtue.
Thus, the book of Leviticus is all about growing in virtue by imitating God. If you want to become a great basketball player, you watch professionals to imitate them. In the same way, if you want to be happy, imitate Jesus. In doing so, who you are as person will change so that you will become more like Jesus. You will grow in holiness and in that lies happiness. As Jesus says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (John 15:11)
Week 2 Challenge: The 7 Christian virtues counter the 7 deadly sins. Pick one Christian virtue to focus on each day. Do every action with that virtue in mind.
Virtue - Deadly Sin
- Humility - Pride
- Charity - Greed
- Kindness - Envy
- Compassion - Anger
- Purity - Lust
- Temperance - Gluttony
- Diligence - Sloth