They Say Being Holy Doesn't Make You A Good Person

So does that mean it's okay to just never go miss weekly masses so we can oversleep from too much fun activities from the night before? Does it mean that it's okay to never sacrifice even a bit of time for God so we can have time to attend to all our activities? Is it okay to never feel guilty to go by with our days without the thought of God in our head, until we face difficulties?

My first impression when I read the sentence in the topic is, I wonder if people make that excuse to just ignore their obligation as a follower of a religion. But then, actually the sentence is very true. Because a lot of people use their religious obligations as "a payback" for not doing good things outside the church. Some of them might think that this can justify or make up for the not-so-good things that they have done. It's like, it's okay to be bad, cos I'll ask for forgiveness when I go to church this Sunday.

So what makes someone a good person? My mom was a Pagan before until she reached certain age. In fact, when all of us have grown up. I often asked myself that time, Does being a no-religion person, makes my mom a bad person? My logic mind tells me, No way.  After all the good things we learn from school, and the idea of what the religion asks us to do, No way that God will hate someone kind just because she doesn't have a certain religion. So that time, my mom never followed any of our religious activities, and she didn't know how to pray, and who to pray to. Until she was baptized, and attended classes, she slowly learned. Now, she's even more religious than us. Her way of treating her religion, reminds me of how a kid should be when he first attends school. He will listen to what the teacher say, he will follow all rules and what he wants is to be a good boy, because that's what the parents tell him. I'm happy for her development. She even reminded us to kneel when we pray before the mass begins, and say prayer before meal - things that we learnt much earlier than she did. Just that, most of turn into rule-breakers when we are through with that school-kid level. Some of us just find our own ways to do things. Maybe we think that we don't necessary have to kneel when praying, cos we want to just sit and "have a talk" with God without having to endure knee pain from too much kneeling. Or we rather say our thankfulness short and simple, without having to necessary do the Sign of Cross, which will let others know that we are praying. At my level now, I must admit that I do get a bit "too used" to rules of how-people-usually-do-it. I rather not follow too much of it cos some of them, I just fail to relate or connect. I want to be sincere in what I do. I don't want to fake-faith tho I can lie to people, but never to God. So again, back to the topic. What makes someone a good person?

When the person speaks good words? When someone helps others in need? When someone put others first before himself? I guess you know the answer. A good person is someone who does good things to others. As simple as that. I don't want to make any conclusion. I just want to say that, for someone who believes in God, who has a religion, who knows what religion is, who admits to others that I belong to this certain religion;- maybe that sentence is not applicable to me. Cos my faith is already part of my "good world". Other than my own conscience, my faith helps be to be in the right track. If I leave it, how good can I be? :)