John Wesley’s maxim on doing good

John Wesley’s maxim on doing good is presented as a practical rule for responding to the world: rather than stopping at a sense of responsibility, Stella urges taking matters into account and trying to do something. Gerry can accept the call to act, but his reservation about the meaning of “good” exposes how agreement on an ethical principle may leave its application unsettled.

The Maxim as a Call to Action

Stella introduces John Wesley as the founder of Methodism and recalls his expansive instruction: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the places you can, and so on and so on.” The repeated “all” makes the principle a practice of sustained effort across means and settings, rather than a single prescribed act. In the same exchange, she distinguishes this outlook from being responsible in a narrow sense: she means taking something into account and perhaps trying to do something about it.

Agreement and Disagreement

Gerry says he can go along with the maxim, then qualifies that assent by questioning the definition of good and invoking the pope. Stella answers that Pope Francis is doing his best. Their exchange leaves the maxim intact while showing that its broad demand does not settle moral disagreements: the invitation to act is easier to share than a definitive account of what action is good.