What We Feel Like Doing

Because not everything we feel like doing is good. Alongside our natural inclination toward the good, we have a conspicuous inclination toward evil that we must govern. This tendency toward evil originated with original sin.

It is the sin committed by Adam and Eve, which became the source of all other sins. When our first parents disobeyed God, human nature suffered a devastating blow. They were deprived of divine friendship and intimacy, lost paradise, and became subject to suffering and death. The inclination toward evil was introduced, and this condition has been inherited by the entire human race. For this reason, doing what is good now requires sustained effort.

Baptism restores what is essential: divine friendship, divine adoption, and the path to heaven. However, pain and the wounded inclination toward evil remain. What is restored is monumental, especially considering that it cost the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.

Remove the word "only." In ordinary life, a person works whether he feels like it or not; he cares for his family whether he feels enthusiastic or tired. Likewise, one should dedicate time to God both when one feels like it and when one does not, for what is good and noble does not always appeal to our immediate inclinations.

The conflict between reason—enlightened by conscience—and unruly inclinations creates an interior tension because living with moral consistency requires effort. The only right response is to choose the good, even when it costs. Yet people respond in various ways:

• Doing what I feel like doing even though it is wrong. (This is a moral error).
• Doing what is right even though I don't feel like it. (This is morally right, though demanding).
• Attempting to rationalize the wrong by distorting what is reasonable. (This is self-deception). This includes the person who refuses to reflect or listen—closing his ears to reason.
• Cultivating one's tastes and desires so that they harmonize with reason. (This is the ideal approach).

By doing what is right with a cheerful disposition. By performing the good, we acquire the ease to repeat it. Doing it with interior joy (a cheerful face) makes the good attractive and enjoyable (pleasures). And perseverance ensures that this virtuous inclination takes deep root in the soul. On this, see also feelings.

The human intellect can also make errors. That is why it is essential to seek wise counsel and know how to listen. However, when we speak of "what is reasonable" in moral philosophy, we denote sound, objective reasoning; if an argument were false, it would not truly be reasonable.