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Does Virtue Bring Happiness?
As I questioned my own happiness, I turned to God and how he defines virtue, morals, values. My great friend, being the most godly person in my life at present, is the definition of a man striving to be completely virtuous, so I attempted to look at his life and his happiness — a test to see if virtue brings about happiness. He was not always so godly though. Before he started seeking himself through the image of God and through virtue, he practically tossed his morality out the window in spite of his parents’ upbringing. He lacked self-control. He lacked the obedience in law or in what society defines as “good.” He was the average guy, doing as he pleased. I really enjoyed his company and could rely on him for anything with no judgment, no hard feelings. He was my best friend. As he started his journey towards what he considered to be his right path, however, is when I lost him. He hardly knows how to handle my spontaneous personality now, and he rarely laughs at my slightly inappropriate, mildly sarcastic remarks. He makes every effort to ensure his thoughts, words, actions, and whole being for that matter, are represented in a virtuous manner. In doing so, he makes me feel less than. But his virtuous ways begs the question: is he even happy? It is hard to tell for sure if anyone is indeed truly happy, but it hardly seems that he is in the slightest — at least compared with his past self.
