What, then, does the spiritual life add to our growth in virtue?
The main difference, I would argue, between virtue found among believers and non-believers is doxological. When we come to understand the Source of our kindness and goodness we can give thanks and praise. To be sure, people can manifest virtue without thanksgiving, but without doxological recognition the Source and Goal of our virtue goes unrecognized. There are, for example, many kind and generous people in the world. But without doxological recognition they assume that they are the source of their own virtue, that their kindness and generosity are personality traits, natural endowments, they just happen to possess. In addition, these virtues are not intentionally directed toward their true Home. This doesn't make people any less generous or kind, but this lack of doxological recognition limits the developmental potential of the virtues we "naturally" possess.
This, then, is what we mean when we say "grace perfects nature." Through doxological recognition, knowing where our virtue comes from and where it is going, we participate with God's Spirit in the developmental maturation of our character. Grace leads our nature toward its fulfillment. Knowing our Source and End we gain navigational clarity and influence over our lives. No longer do the virtues appear within our character as genetic happenstance, the random luck of being born with a certain personality trait. Through doxological recognition we come to recognize our capacities for kindness and love as the accompaniment of God, the inner Voice within our hearts calling us Home.
Like wild flowers, the virtues grow all around us. And like wild flowers, we are delighted whenever and wherever we encounter them. Kindness and goodness in the world are a blessing. They are windows into heaven. But we can do more than delight in these encounters of sporadic beauty. We can give thanks. We can recognize the Source of goodness in the world and come to participate more deeply in widening its influence. To adopt a doxological posture toward virtue, to know its Beginning and its End, is to participate more fully in the Grace that calls all beautiful things back to Itself.
