Goodness feels a little generic to me, because we use “good” to describe so many different things. Good news is positive, a good year for a business is profitable, good fruit is ripe, a good dog is obedient and “my goodness!” is an exclamation of surprise.
So what exactly is goodness as part of the fruit of the Spirit?
Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines goodness in this way: Goodness in man is not a mere passive quality, but the deliberate preference of right to wrong, the firm and persistent resistance of all moral evil, and the choosing and following of all moral good.
I think that is a great definition. Have you noticed how active the fruit of the Spirit is? Goodness is deliberate–a choice, just like the other virtues we’ve studied so far.
Let’s examine goodness a little more closely.
It is sourced from God.
God is ultimately the only one who can truly be described as “good.” But lucky for us, he loves to pour out his goodness in our lives and into our very being. God is like a power source; the more we are intentionally in his presence, the more goodness we absorb.
In Exodus 34, Moses goes up the mountain to speak with God and when he came down to the Israelites, he glowed so brightly that he had to wear a veil. Jeremiah 31:12 ESV says, “they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord.” Just like Moses, we shine more radiantly when we are filled with God’s goodness from being in his presence.
I’m not talking about devoting one hour a week at church to God, but walking with God daily, whatever that looks like to you. Being in his presence will fill your heart with goodness. Luke 6:45 says, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
It is so, so vital that we choose wisely what we fill our heart with.
It is revealed not by actions, but motives.
At IF:Gathering 2022, Jada Edwards was speaking about spiritual maturity, but I think her words apply to goodness as well. She said, “If you’re just trying to learn holy and good things to do and follow God on some path of good things, but you’re not inviting him to search your heart, you’re going to end up with a confused, conflicted and inefficient spiritual journey.” People can do good acts for the wrong reasons and end up missing out on the true goodness that God intends for us to have. They may be shooting at the right target, but miss it completely.
In Matthew 19:16-22, a man asked Jesus, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus tells him to keep the commandments, and the man responds with pride, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus gets straight to the problem, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The man turned away, sad.
This wasn’t a formula for getting into heaven; Jesus isn’t saying money is evil or rich people are bad. He knew this man’s heart and motives weren’t pure. He was motivated by his pride, his desire to appear righteous and his love of money, not by his love of God.
Paul tells us in Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Our motivations matter, and we can’t fake them with the one who knows us from the inside out. Asking God to search our heart for any impure motives can be a humbling experience, but it will lead us toward goodness as we seek him.
It doesn’t require perfection.
Being a good person doesn’t require perfection. Whew! All of you “Type A’s” can put the checklist down.
We are human. We will make mistakes. But with God, we can repent, be forgiven and live without shame–and still be called good.
David was called “a man after God’s own heart” despite having major sin and failures in his life. After he sinned with Bathsheba, he wrote Psalm 51 with beautiful words of repentance. Our good Father is so forgiving and gracious when we seek his heart.
Likewise, Peter, one of Jesus’ most devoted disciples, denied him three times after Jesus was arrested, but went on to be instrumental in starting the Christian church. Jesus even said “on this rock I will build my church” in Matthew 16:18, referring to Peter as “the rock.” Peter was still good, even though he had a moment (or three) of weakness.
The Bible is full of stories of Jesus using imperfect people to carry out his plan; when their goodness is highlighted, it gives us hope that our broken lives can be redeemed and used to shine with God’s goodness as well.
It will be rewarded.
Paul tells us in Galatians 6:8-10, “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
When we plant seeds of goodness to please the Spirit, we are working for God’s glory and oh, how that work be richly rewarded. Our reward for goodness isn’t an easy life, free from pain and suffering, but Romans 2:10 says there will be “glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good.” Our greatest reward is eternal life with God.
When we sow to please the Spirit, some of those seeds may grow and flourish in our lifetime, like our children growing up to love God or a student being inspired to pursue a life’s work in the subject we taught. However, some seeds get buried deep or get carried off to grow in another garden that we’ll never see on this side of heaven.
People are results-driven. If we work hard and don’t immediately see benefits, we may be tempted to give up. Maybe this is why Paul cautions us to not grow weary in doing good in the Galatians verse above and again in 2 Thessalonians 3:13. Our harvest will be “at the proper time”; our definition of the proper time may be different than God’s, and the harvest may look different than we were hoping for.
1 Peter 3:14 tells us, “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed”. Sometimes our hard and good work doesn’t produce the effect we think it should, but take heart. Our goodness will reap a harvest; just keep doing the next right thing.
It requires taking a stand for what is right.
Going back to the definition of goodness from Easton’s Bible Dictionary, goodness is “…the firm and persistent resistance of all moral evil…” Goodness is not only doing the right thing for the right reason, but also resisting evil for the right reasons.
Sometimes being good means we have to fight against what is wrong. Matthew 21 describes the time when Jesus became angry in the temple courts. He drove out the merchants and overturned tables with righteous anger, saying, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.”
When we see wrongdoing, goodness calls us to intervene somehow. To stop the fight. To stick up for the poor or ridiculed. To call the police when you witness a crime. To take control of a hijacked plane with a battlecry of “let’s roll.”
In Ephesians 5:8-11, Paul implores us to stand for goodness. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth), and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”
This excerpt from Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri is so powerful at illustrating this point:
Imagine you're evil. Not misunderstood. Not sad. But evil. Imagine you’ve got a heart that spends all day wanting more. Imagine your mind is a selfish room full of pride or pity. Imagine you’re like Brandon Goth and you find poor kids in the halls and you make fun of their clothes and you flick their ears until they scream in pain and swing their arms, and so you pin them down and break their fingers. Or you spit in his food in the cafeteria. Or you just call him things like cockroach and sand monkey. Imagine you’re evil and you don’t do any of those things, but you’re like Julie Jenkins and you laugh and you laugh at everything Brandon does, and you even help when the teacher comes and asks what’s going on and you say, “Nothing’s going on,” and he believes you because you get A+’s in English. Or imagine you just watch all of this and you act like you’re disgusted because you don’t like meanness, but you don’t do anything or tell anyone. Imagine how much you’ve got compared to all the kids in the world getting blown up or starved and the good you could do if you spent half a second thinking about it. Suddenly evil isn’t punching people or even hating them. Suddenly it’s all the stuff you’ve left undone, all the kindness you could have given, all the excuses you gave instead. Imagine that for a minute. Imagine what it means. Well anyway, don’t get too upset. You can always find someone worse acting than you and say, at least I’m not as bad as that guy, and you can feel good and go to the mall and go back to being evil.
Romans 2:7-8 says, “To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” We must persist in doing good by rejecting evil.
Ideas to practice goodness:
- Don’t participate in gossip (even hearing it!).
- Practice integrity at work. Do only work when you’re “on the clock”, even when no one will know.
- Speak out against wrong.
- Follow the laws of the land (report income for tax purposes, drive the speed limit, etc.).
- Look for goodness in others and commend them for it.
- Don’t use work resources for personal use.
- Reflect on God’s goodness in your life.
- Break a habit that you know is wrong.
- Reflect on a time when you saw evil and didn’t do anything. What do you wish you would have done or said?
- Help the poor, the orphans or the widows in some way.
- Ask God for forgiveness and repent from a past sin (read Psalm 51). Leave it in the past.
- Build in a daily habit that will bring you closer to God, such as reading your Bible, going on a prayer walk, listening to worship music during your commute or having a few minutes of quiet time in prayer each day.
Lord, thank you for the goodness you bring to our lives every day. Please search our hearts and reveal any impure motivations we have for wanting to be a good person. Give us endurance to continue doing what is right and courage to stand against evil. Help us to seek your presence daily and overflow from the goodness you fill us with. Amen.
Practicing the Fruit of the Spirit: An Invitation
Practicing the Fruit of the Spirit: Love
Practicing the Fruit of the Spirit: Joy
Practicing the Fruit of the Spirit: Peace
Practicing the Fruit of the Spirit: Patience
Practicing the Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness
