Can You Be a Good Person in a Broken System?
We’re told to “be a good person.” It’s a phrase that’s become almost sacred in modern culture, etched into motivational posters, classroom walls, and Instagram captions. But what does it actually mean to be good when you’re living in a system that might be built on lies, fueled by greed, and designed to pull you away from truth?
This question becomes even more complex when viewed through a Biblical lens — one that boldly declares: “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10) The Bible doesn’t mince words: no one is inherently good. In fact, it teaches that any perceived goodness we have is filthy compared to the holiness of God (Isaiah 64:6).
The Lie of Human Goodness
Our culture often praises individual virtue — being kind, inclusive, compassionate. And those things aren’t inherently wrong. But the issue arises when these surface-level “good deeds” become substitutes for real truth, or when they’re used to ignore deeper moral corruption.
Scripture is clear: we’re all fallen, and our nature is sinful. That’s not a feel-good message, but it is a truthful one. Even when we do something “good,” it’s often laced with self-interest, pride, or performance. The Bible doesn’t applaud self-made righteousness — it calls it a counterfeit.
The world system, meanwhile, reinforces the idea that you can save yourself by being good enough. It promotes a works-based worldview, subtly (or not so subtly) saying that salvation comes through effort, activism, or behavior. But the Gospel completely flips this: you can’t earn it — you need Christ.
A System Designed to Hate God
If the system were merely broken, we might be able to patch it. But the Bible goes further. It says the system is at war with God.
“Do not love the world or the things in the world… the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15–17)
The “world” here isn’t referring to creation itself but to the man-made order of power, politics, media, and ideology — systems that are hostile to the Creator. The system glorifies sin, mocks holiness, and presents rebellion against God as freedom. It rewards conformity to its values and punishes anything that smells of divine truth.
So when someone tries to “be good” within this system, what does that even mean? Is goodness defined by what the system applauds — or by what God requires?
The Trap of Relative Morality
You might hear: “I’m a good person. I don’t steal. I help people. I vote for the right causes.” But this kind of morality is horizontal — comparing yourself to other flawed people rather than to a holy God.
Biblically, the only way to become righteous is through Jesus Christ, who took on the full weight of our sin and broke the system’s claim over us. True goodness, then, isn’t self-generated — it’s received through faith.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works…” (Ephesians 2:8–9)
Even the desire to do good in the eyes of God must begin with transformation of the heart, not just behavior modification.
Can You Be a Good Person in a Broken System?
The answer, by Biblical standards, is **no — **not in your own power. Not by the world’s definitions. Not while you’re plugged into a system that hates the One who defines true goodness.
But here’s the truth: God doesn’t call you to be “good” — He calls you to be reborn. Through Christ, He offers righteousness that doesn’t come from the system or yourself. A righteousness that exposes the world for what it is and invites you into something higher, purer, and eternal.
You can’t fix the system, and you can’t perfect yourself. But you can be made new.
Niceness of Moral Relativity
In a world that worships “niceness” and moral relativity, real goodness is radical. It begins at the foot of the Cross — not in your own strength, but in surrender. In this way, you won’t just try to be good — you’ll become something far more powerful: redeemed.
