Virtues vs Values
“If there is harmony in the heart, there will be harmony in the family. If there is harmony in the family, there will be harmony in the nation. If there is harmony in the nation, there will be harmony in the world.” - Confucius
When I find myself amongst a group of family or friends and someone brings up my work life one of two questions are asked as a follow up:
1)Are you still at the job? (The implication being that I change jobs a lot.)
2) What exactly does a campus minister do? (Implying the don’t know what I do or lack understanding of why we need people doing this job.)
It is the second question which brings light to my eyes and draws curiosity from others. In those moments I boldly proclaim that I have the privledge and honor to form college students into saints and launch them into mission so that they can do the same for their peers. The responses I often get are either confused or indifferent faces. I am sure to some of you reading you also have questions. Allow me to explain.
In my particular role as a Campus Minister I sit down with one-on-one with about 15 students each week. These meetings usually last about an hour and follow the structure of Life (how’s life going), Growth (how are you growing or wanting to grow), and Mission (how is Christ calling you to love and serve others)? In my first year at the job I found that the areas of Life and Mission were easy enough to talk about. It was the area of Growth though that I found to be the hardest. How can we help these students grow? Is there something concrete we can do to help them grow? That’s when it hit me: they need the virtues.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines virtue as the firm, habitual disposition to do that which is good. In other words virtues are habits we have formed that formed that help us to do good. The “aha” moment of realizing that the students (and all of us for that matter) need the virtues came when I began to think about the kind of people I wanted these students to be. I wanted them to go through a transformation. I wanted them to replace vices with virtues and be different than they were before. In the midst of all of this I realized another truth. I realized that our cultures concept of “values-based morality” falls short compared to virtue.
Within the framework of a values-based morality, people place emphasis on certain human values. Examples of some of these might be valuing things like patience, loyalty or respect for elders. Values are great when we talk about social groups and cultures, but ultimately where values fall short is in case of individual character. When someone says they value a thing that does not mean they possess that thing, nor are they being formed by it. A person can say they value a thing, but in certain instances do not live out what that value demands. Values do not lead to transformation. Virtue on the other hand is oriented towards action. A virtue-based morality focuses not on values held by an individual, but rather on the character traits I want to have. If I want to be known as a patient person than I can evaluate how a patient person lives and strive to live out their actions. Values only tell me what we should be like, not demanding transformation or action.
It is perhaps true to say the values might be where we start in a search for human growth, but without virtuous action we can not truly become the Saints we were made to be. All of us want peace. All of us want harmony. All of us want happiness. We must make demands on others that go beyond merely valuing character traits. This year I want to push my students, my friends, my family, myself and you dear reader into a life of virtue. So let’s do it! Let’s go deeper!
