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The Most Valuable Worldly Possession: One’s Good Name

        On Charitable Speech and Slander (Part 3)

Associate Pastor's Column
Sunday, January 21, 2007

“He who unjustly takes away his neighbor’s good name is guilty of sin, and is bound to make reparation, according to the nature of his evil speaking; since no man can enter into Heaven cumbered with stolen goods, and of all worldly possessions the most precious is a good name.” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, III, 29)

We continue our focus on the virtue of charity today, specifically charity in speech regarding our neighbor, commenting yet another line from St. Francis de Sales’ meditation on slander.

This is particularly urgent for all followers of Christ, who care called to use their tongue not for evil but for good; and more so for any soul who is particularly inclined to slander, or deals with one who is so inclined.

St. Francis compares the ruining of one’s good name to the stealing of someone’s goods. It is a fair comparison; in fact, one can compare any two sins and always find some degree and manner of similarity. Since goodness is one, sin also enjoys some sort of unity, even if twisted.

All sins have these things in common: disobedience against God; unreasonable conduct; disorder; moral evil; the choice of a lesser good against a greater good; the abuse of freedom; the rejection of the universal good; a lack of rectitude; a mix of good with evil; defiance of God; and the putting of oneself in God’s place.

We Americans are very in tune with appreciating good material things. We have good homes, good cars, good food, good clothing, good computers, good furniture, good appliances, good medicine and so much more.

Yet everyone, American or not, is very in tune with appreciating one’s good name. Who would like being falsely accused in a court of law? Who would be happy to learn that his neighbors whisper behind his back that he is a thief, especially when he is not? Who would rejoice to learn that others consider him lecherous when he is in fact an icon of chastity? Who would be glad to learn that, when he missed Mass one Sunday due to a case of nausea, other parishioners gossiped that he was just lazy and stayed in bed that morning?

Who? The answer is this: No one.

If we then know how to appreciate the good things of this world, we have much to learn about appreciating the value of a good name, at least appreciating it enough to not destroy it.

I know of no one who would simply get up from the sofa one day with a metal stick, only to go out and randomly trash someone’s automobile: break its windows, disfigure its body, bust its tires, scratch plenty of the painting, destroy the upholstery, and when he was done, then set fire to it… just because he “felt like it” at that moment. We would consider such a person mad.

Yet a good name is worth far more than a million dollar car. That said, we find souls who “feel like it,” and do worse to their neighbor’s good name than the mad man did to the car.

There are even those poor souls who feel a compulsion to slander and detract. They are nearly incapable of speaking about anything at all, without dragging their neighbor’s good name through the slime. This is a vice, a habit of mortal sin, and such persons would do themselves a great favor to examine the causes, confess frequently, and work on acquiring the habit of speaking well of others, be they friend or foe.

Each one of us has so much good. It is not hard to speak well of another person, except if someone has the habit and compulsion to do other wise. How much good it does to souls when we speak well of others. By speaking well of others, we can encourage each other do to what is good, to aspire to good things, to admire and love one another, to overcome our sins and defects, and to aspire to the highest goods especially the supernatural ones, like the theological virtues or the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Little children, love one another!

Picture: “Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.” (James 3:4-5). Thanks: www.davidhillhouse.com.