Disappointment

I really want to write about something that I can put a twist on. Something that will make you laugh. Something that will be fun. But I cannot. I am disappointed. I am disappointed in people. Some people I think the world of have let me, or others down. It makes me sad.

I hear the word righteous in church a lot. It's in the Bible, and is often used to describe Biblical Characters. It's used to describe people of good standing in the church. I used to think that only a true saint could be righteous. I hear it in movies, and in slang, and it's obviously a good thing to be righteous. I thought righteousness and being Christian go hand in hand.

So, I wondered, maybe I expect everyone to be righteous. Maybe I expect more out of this human race than I should. Maybe I expect everyone to be righteous.

But, then, I looked up the word.

1. (of a person or conduct) Morally right or justifiable; virtuous.

2. Perfectly wonderful; fine and genuine.

Even the Urban dictionary has a definition of righteous:

Containing the best possible attributable qualities.

Synonyms of righteous are things like good, honest, fair, and right.

The word has nothing to do with religion, or faith. It has everything to do with the way we treat one another. Is it too much to ask people to be "morally right"? Is it too much to expect people to be "fine and genuine"? I know those are only parts of the definition, but is it such a stretch?

I know that everyone makes mistakes. Often mistakes are misguided choices -- bad decisions made without all the information, or made out for the wrong reason. These are truly mistakes, and those who made them are "morally right" and "fine and genuine". They are just mistakes, and they make me sad, but they don't disappoint me.

My disappointment today comes from the realization that some people I care about may not be "morally right". Morally right, to me, is defined by your interaction with the rest of the world, and how your decisions affect others. Hopefully, decisions are for the better, in some form or fashion.

Decisions made out of selfishness can never be morally right. They can never be "fine and genuine". But there can be many times where being "fine and genuine" also results in personal improvement. Both in circumstance and in mind.

And, so today, I am struggling with disappointment. With the fact that values have been compromised, or were maybe never there to begin with, and I've been too blind to see it. Or maybe that I've been hoodwinked.

Either way, I am disappointed, and my perception of the world is changed forever.