Being Good Isn’t Good Enough

You may have heard the phrase “a good man” or “a good woman” as I have. When you think of a good person, what qualities do you think of? As a believer of Jesus Christ, we are to have the quality of “goodness” which is the sixth fruit of the Spirit in our series (Galatians 5:22-23).

As I mentioned before, I think the order of the characteristics in this list are important. The characteristics listed in the fruit of the Spirit cannot be achieved until we are growing the first in the list – love. We can do good works such as serve at church or a local charity, but what are our motives? Anyone can do “good things,” but God’s children are to be filled with goodness. This will come when we have the love for others we are commanded to have (John 13:34).

What exactly does God’s Word mean when it tells us as believers with the Holy Spirit’s help we should be filled with “goodness”? In the Old Testament, it is attributed to God – His creation (Genesis 1:4,10,12,18,21,25,32) and His goodness (Psalm 31:19, 52:1, 109:21). When you get to the New Testament, it is usually describing people empowered with the Holy Spirit.

Goodness is having moral uprightness of heart and character demonstrating it as we have opportunity. It is a deliberate preference of right to wrong no matter if anyone knows or not. Our good deeds are done to be done with a righteous heart and a desire to be a blessing to others. Goodness is best shown in the way we live our lives.

The best way to see how we should live as believers of Christ is to look to Jesus Christ Himself and the way He lived while on earth. The Bible says “He went about doing good” and He calls Himself “the good shepherd” (Acts 10:38, John 10:11,14). He reached out to the unloved and unwanted. He showed them love. He fed them. He took time to tell others about His righteous, loving Father in heaven.

But Jesus is holy. He is sinless. (Mark 10:18, Hebrews 4:15, 1 John 3:5)

We are not.

We are all sinners (Romans 3:23, 5:12). We are not inherently good. If you are a parent or have ever been around children much, then this is obvious. And even as believers who have put their faith and trust in Him, we still sin. It’s something we will battle until we reach heaven, but battle we must. We should desire to be like Christ. To love others, to be filled with joy, to let peace reign in our lives, to practice longsuffering, to show gentleness…

We must die to self to be able to let the Holy Spirit truly have free reign and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit (Luke 9:23).

3 John 11 “Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” God expects us to do good. God expects us to live in goodness in the Spirit. We don’t compare ourselves to our neighbor or coworker or friend to size up our goodness, we compare ourselves to God. He is the standard. He is the Creator and author of goodness.

Each of us have many opportunities each day to practice goodness. Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit may take effort, time, and sometimes even self-control to not do the opposite. These occasions are not usually big events but very often seemingly insignificant ways for us to show God’s love to others. Showing Christ’s goodness in small ways can reap large dividends later on whether blessings here on earth or rewards in heaven (Matthew 16:27).

As we continue to study the fruit of the Spirit, we know we must be ready to surrender ourselves to God. If we are committed to let Him help us cultivate these characteristics in our daily lives, then it will affect every area of our lives – our relationships, our health (emotionally, physically, and spiritually because they are all connected), our finances, and our daily performance whether at home or work to name a few.

To be called a “good man” or “good woman” isn’t the purpose of living in goodness. True goodness comes from a Spirit-filled heart. We want others to see our lives and say, “they serve a good God.” Let us give God all the glory for the goodness in our lives. 💕