What It Takes: A Good Man or A Great Man Who Is Good?

Pretend for a moment that greatness has already affected a man. What distinguishes a good man from a great man who is also good? To understand this nuance, we have to look deeper than the remedial association with one’s success, power, or legacy. A man who is good behaves with decency even when no one is looking; his goodness is founded on humility, integrity, and quiet power. A man who is great and good is even rarer, for he has control and authority accompanied with influence and immense responsibility. nevertheless, his virtue holds him together. Greatness ascertains goodness; it demonstrates whether honor and moral character can survive beneath the weight of authority and fame.

Jonathan, the beloved 1st son of King Saul in The Bible, is a great illustration of this concept. He is the offspring of the 1st King of Israel, who is to assume the throne, yet he defers to David when he is anointed in his place. Jonathan's humility did not make him less than; rather it revealed that goodness and greatness are not at odds but in harmony when the soul is properly positioned. He could have pursued power and ambition, but he chose loyalty and love over legacy. In that yielding, his greatness had emerged–not in the crown he never wore, but in the goodness and Faith he never abandoned.

 In this generation, the pursuit of greatness has become a defining obsession. We chase so passionately after accomplishments, visibility, and personal notoriety, yet often lose sight of goodness—the still and silent work of a character that outlasts applause. Greatness without virtues sullies the soul,  goodness without greatness may seem small, but it seeds eternity.

Marcus Aurelius reminds us that greatness is always commensurate with virtue. Marcus was an Emperor of Rome-which was pretty much the entire world at that time tbh– his writings in Meditations reveal a heart enamored with good judgment, compassion, and reason. As the Emperor, Marcus Aurelius could satisfy any whim or desire that would befall him, and yet he was always concerned with keeping himself sober and in check. Not wanting to "Be Cesearfied"-- meaning self-absorbed and egotistical in this context-- as he would put it. Marcus had authority but was disciplined enough to know where and when to set borders. He exercised power without losing perspective. As such, the rarest form of greatness is moral self-mastery; the ability to lead or influence without forsaking what is right.

Any positive characteristic, attribute, or virtue that is seen on and accessible to one man is therefore possible to all men who are willing. Thus it stands to reason then, although most men won’t be or claim not to have the capacity to be great; every human on GOD’s green earth has the capacity to be good. And regardless if you're a man with a few achievements or many, you still ought to be a good man. Worldly greatness can induce vanity, which will rotten your soul, but only kindness can cleanse it up.

“THE ESSENCE OF GREATNESS IS THE PERCEPTION THAT VIRTUE IS ENOUGH”

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

In the pursuit of greatness, many men fail to do good.-- ATG3 10/2025