Tipong pa-deep.

"In the Gospel according to Luke, there is a moment when an important man approaches Jesus and asks: 'Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' And to our surprise, Jesus responds: 'Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is God.'" - The Devil and Miss Prym, Paulo Coelho

What could be his message? St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, claims that Man is essentially good for there are virtues which come from the Natural Law which conforms to the nature of man. However, he also said that the law of nature may be blotted out "in the case of a particular action, in so far as reason is hindered from applying the general principle to a particular point of practice, on account of concupiscence or some other passion".

So therefore, although man is inclined to good, this inclination is imperfect as it may be corrupted by vices and passion.

This is the reason why Man needs laws. According to the Summa, there are men who are virtuous, and men who are not. Those who are no longer need laws because admonitions can already tame their actions. While those who are vicious need laws that make use of the fear of punishment in order that these vicious men obey, which in effect lead them to being good.

So if I may ask, are those virtuous men essentially virtuous or are they only afraid of punishment that they act virtuous? I think the positive answer belongs to my second question.

But I wonder, if people release their desire to do something evil, would it stop already? Would a moment of sacrifice to destroy the things that are familiar save the future of those things that will become familiar soon? Could a rebuilding be easier than preservation?