"The Good Place" v The Good News

I've held off on posting this during the solemn season of Lent. Now that we have entered the festive season of the resurrection it's a more fitting time. This discusses the sitcom/drama The Good Place, and contrasts it with what Christians would consider to be the good news. For those not familiar with the show, the premise is that several people find themselves in the afterlife where their host informs them that they have died, this is the afterlife, and they are now in "the good place".

The Good Place reflects the socially acceptable agnostic spirituality of our times. Without spoiling the various plot twists of the series, we'll just say that "the good place" is not necessarily as good as anyone might hope. After some time the focus of the series pivots to the question: If we were to create our own afterlife, what would we want it to be? In one man's vision of what the afterlife should be, we would choose to perfect ourselves -- perfect our skills, complete our bucket lists, attain self-fulfillment or enlightenment -- then let go of our existence and return our energy to the cosmos. Every story must end; this one ended with an embrace of a return to non-existence.

The show had some good moments, some fun plot twists, and some endearing characters. What it didn't have was a belief that life is intrinsically good and that a love of life would endure. In some scenes, the afterlife was an endless party that had overstayed its welcome. The show's last reconstruction of the afterlife was one in which people pursued pet projects and self-actualization. In that vision of the afterlife love was not forever. The residents, either self-absorbed or isolated, eventually saw that there was nothing more for them, and left. In some cases, they left others grieving; it was not a place where there was no more mourning or death. There was little to distinguish the afterlife from this life except greater power (or accommodation from the existing powers) and more time.

The good news paints a different picture, and I will note some of the differences that struck me most clearly. The good news pictures our own creator who loves us dearly welcoming us to a place he has prepared for us. The good news pictures love and beauty that do not fade or wear thin in our renewed hearts and minds. In the good news, we are no longer world-weary. Our relationships are no longer strained, our souls are no longer stained. Fear of death and of loss are gone. Instead of "the good place" with its escalating series of entertainments or achievements that at some point can no longer be topped, the good news gives us a river that restores our soul, and the warmth and connection that make life desirable. 

People willingly step out of "the good place" because it's not the kingdom of God; it's just an epilogue where people can fix their lives and characters if they choose. But the kingdom of heaven is like a wedding feast. Or like baking bread. Or like going fishing. Or like a family that is finally re-united with a long-lost son.