Goodness
Having an uprightness of heart that is reflected in our actions and develops into excellence of character such that we pursue righteousness and can perform good deeds.
This can sometimes be synonymous with kindness but essentially anything that is morally right and beneficial.
In Philippians, Paul gives parting words to the church saying;
The Gospel
Whatsoever things are excellent, profitable, useful, beneficial and morally right for the advancement of the Gospel (known as the good news)is what we engage in. There is a reason why the Gospel is called the Good News. Possessing moral goodness and integrity. Goodness means avoiding evil and all its appearances and holding on to what is right.
Goodness does not react to evil but absorbs the offense and responds with
positive action.
Sometimes this can be linked with justice and fighting for the oppressed and marginalized in society because according to Psalm 112:7
“Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice”
In addition, I love the plain definition in Micah 6:8 (ERV)
“Human, the Lord has told you what goodness is.
This is what he wants from you:
Be fair to other people.
Love kindness and loyalty,
and humbly obey your God.”
There it is plain and simple in the Word. Goodness is seen in our actions but it requires not only doing good but being good. In being good we know that no one is good except God. So our goodness comes from us allowing the Holy Spirit rule in our hearts such that that uprightness of heart is exercised within us.
The Good thing vs The God thing
One of the greatest signs we are maturing in our walk with Christ is that we can discern the “good things” from “God things”. What might look good and morally conscious from the human perspective it may not necessarily be the God thing right there and then.
The goodness of God always looks at things from a heavenly and kingdom perspective. Imagine being one of the disciples when Jesus was narrating the story of how he will be crucified. Matthew 16: 21-27, is the breakdown of Jesus explaining the process to the disciples. Obviously the good thing was to rebuke Jesus, as a disciple who loved him deeply, I can only imagine the disciples wondering why He was narrating such terrible things. In fact, it can appear shocking that Jesus rebukes Peter in verse 23 saying;
“Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
I feel touched on Peter’s behalf! He brought felt like he was doing the right thing but it wasn’t the ‘God thing’ meaning it wasn’t aligned with God’s perfect plan with bringing redemption to the human race. It was an excellence of character and the God nature in Jesus that caused him to choose to do the God thing over the good thing. He could have easily chosen to keep on living since he was saving lives and healing people right? Surely, he would be more useful alive than dead? But there was a bigger goal in mind. The eternal salvation of souls was at stake.
And because Jesus Christ choose to walk that path to the Cross, you and I have been ransomed and brought back into perfect relationship with God. That good deed Jesus followed through on can inspire us all to go out and live out the nature of Christ in us.
In order for us to exhibit God’s goodness in us and maintain that uprightness of heart, we need to spend time in the presence of God continually. Therefore, the prayer for us all is that;
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life, and we shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalm 23:6 (esv)
Further study/References
The Hope project study resources
#SeekGodMore
Mo 🙂
A young woman on a mission to discovering purpose, to inspire growth and contribute to the Kingdom mandate. On the blog we are all about learning and growing and this is done through writing on topics from Faith, Education, Music, Food, Travel and so much more… (Romans 12:2)
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