Goodness

2 Peter 1:5-8 (Click on any Bible link in this article and you may choose to read the verses from other translations)

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. –New International Version 1984

Ask any child to tell you what they must do to be good and they will probably give you two lists – one long list of things they should not do and a shorter list of “good” things they could do. We generally grow up with some sense of right and wrong. Depending on our upbringing and on the upbringing of our parents, these ideas may vary somewhat, but there will be many striking similarities in the lists as well.

On their website, the Merriam Webster dictionary defines goodness as “the quality or state of being good.” It further defines good as “virtuous, right, commendable.”

Fifty years ago it would have been easy to create lists of what was good and what was not good, and most people would have been in agreement with most of the things in both lists. Today our culture is sadly divided and things that have been considered taboo for three centuries are now being heralded as acceptable and good by more and more people.

When we make the decision to step out in faith and ask Jesus into our hearts, we will want to turn from any known sin in our life and to strive for goodness. We may discover that different people have differing ideas about what is good. When this happens we must seek after God’s heart to learn what is truly good. If we are willing to learn from God, to read his Word, the Bible and to pray, we will be able to discern for ourselves what is right and wrong, and we will know what God considers to be good.

As we travel along our Christian faith journey, we may discover new insights concerning what is good at various points along the way. What seems okay to you at first may not be good. I remember when someone shared with me what God had to say about some occult practices I had dabbled in. When I saw how I had allowed these occult practices to interfere with my looking to Jesus for direction in my life, I grieved over my sin and burned the books I had about it. I also resolved to never again read a horoscope. I have never regretted making this decision.

God takes us where we are and moves us along an upward path. We are new creations, but we aren’t perfected in an instant.God promises in Philippians 1:6 that he will continue working on us until the day of Christ’s coming.

We need to keep in mind that our walk with Christ is a journey and is sometimes a struggle. Consider the struggle that Paul was going through as he wrote the book of Romans. Read Romans 7:15-25 to learn how even this great saint of God struggled with sin in his life.

There is a powerful hymn called He’s Still Working on Me that illustrates this struggle. Most of the time children are asked to sing this song, which makes it too easy for many adults to fully miss the point. It takes a lifetime to prepare us to spend eternity with Christ. It doesn’t happen overnight, and the process isn’t finished when we become adults.

Father God, help us to understand goodness as you understand it. Don’t allow us to settle into complacency at a good-enough level that falls far short of the goodness you desire to see in our lives. May we always compare our goodness to the goodness of Christ, and may we become ever mindful of those shortcomings in our lives that still need work.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

The Creation by Janice D. Green