Be Good, For Goodness’ Sake

“For Goodness’ sake, Maybelle,” my mom exclaimed. “Stop asking so many questions!”

“Here comes Miss Goody Two Shoes,” my sister sneered to her friends every time she saw me walking toward her.

“You’re just too good sometimes, Maybelle,” a friend once advised me. “You’re going to explode someday.”

I have heard the word “good” in one form or another associated with my name for as long as I can remember. Yes, I was a good girl and I got good grades in school. I helped my parents around the house. I followed the rules to the best of my ability. Basically, for two reasons: I loved my parents and wanted to honor them like the Bible says, and it was the right thing to do.

Why is Goodness so Bad?

Now I have been a curious person my entire life. And my question now is why is goodness looked upon as something negative when it’s an element of the Fruit of the Spirit? Goodness has actually been the easiest of the elements for me to exhibit. I’m not saying that I’m perfect because I have done some not so good things in my life. Like the time I took two dollars out of my mom’s wallet so I could play pinball at the arcade. Or the time, I cheated on a test. Or the time, well you get the picture. Even us good people have our bad times.

And during those times when I was bad, I didn’t feel so great inside. Maybe it was a guilty conscience but I didn’t like myself. And I didn’t want to feel that way again so I try to be as good as I can.

But Enough About Me

Let’s get back to the Fruit of the Spirit. Goodness is defined as the quality of being morally good or virtuous. Now there’s a word for you – virtuous. Kind of a high and mighty word. But it simply means moral excellence. Now if these words are a little highfalutin for you, just remember this: be decent, honest, and full of integrity and you’ll have goodness in your heart.

When you look at the Bible, good is associated with holy, pure, and righteousness. In Genesis 1, God says the word “good” seven times! He created night and day and He pronounced it good. He made the heavens and earth and announced it good. God created Adam and said he was good. God created Eve and said she was VERY good. Everything was good, holy, and pure. But then Eden fell, sin came into the world, and we’ve been trying to get back to good ever since.

Goodness is God-Like

Look, I know goodness is not easy. It’s difficult in this crazy world we live in where evil seems to be winning. But we, as Christians, need to be beacons of light. We have to be God-like. And the way to do that is doing what is right even when no one is looking. Goodness equals Godliness.

And goodness isn’t for ourselves. Sure, goodness makes us feel good. It gives us a “high” of sorts. But true goodness grows in our hearts. It is something that other people can be grateful for. Goodness is a desire to be a blessing. It involves an active benevolence and a commitment to do all the good we can, selflessly acting on the behalf of others.

Goodness is an invitation to fill our lives with good things. Most people believe that means comfort and affluence. But living a life close to God with all the great benefits He offers is truly the good life. And that’s the life I’m living right now.

So what about you? Are you good? Does goodness show in your life. Are you a blessing in someone’s life. Let’s talk. Leave me a comment.