when an opportunity occurs, they culminate in actions and become
embodied in them (§§ 375 – 376 ).Goodwill Itself Is Acting Justly and Faithfully
in Our Position and Our Work
and with the People with Whom We Interact422 Goodwill itself is acting justly and faithfully in our position and our work,
because all the things we do in this way are useful to the community; and
usefulness is goodness, and goodness in an impersonal sense is our neigh-
bor. As I have shown above [§§ 412 – 414 ], our neighbor is not only individ-
ual people but also our community and the country as a whole.
For example, if monarchs lead the way for their subjects by setting an
example of doing good, if they want their people to live by the laws of
justice, if they reward people who live that way, if they give all people the
consideration they deserve, if they keep their people safe from harm and
invasion, if they act like parents to their countries, and take care for the
general prosperity of their people—these monarchs have goodwill in
their hearts. The things they do are good actions.
Priests who teach truths from the Word and use truths to lead to a
goodness of life, and therefore to heaven, are practicing goodwill in very
important ways, because they are caring for the souls of the people in
their church.
Judges who make decisions on the basis of justice and the law, and
not because of bribery or because someone is their friend or relative, are
caring for the community and for the individual—for the community,
because their decisions influence it to stay obedient to the law and fearful
of breaking it, and for the individual, because their decisions allow jus-
tice to triumph over injustice.
Business people who act with honesty and without fraudulence are
caring for the neighbor they do business with. So are workers and crafts-
people when they do their work uprightly and honestly rather than falsely
or deceptively. The same goes for everyone else—for ship captains and
sailors, for farm workers and servants.
423 This is goodwill itself because it can be defined as follows: goodwill is
doing good to our neighbor daily and constantly—not only to our
neighbor as an individual but also to our neighbor collectively. The only