Thank Goodness

You're probably asking yourself what's up with the picture for today's post. Well not only does it touch on today's topic, but I think it's pretty hilarious: when I think of reggae, I don't immediately think of reggae from Finland...but to each their own, I guess.

I was telling my wife the other day that the topics of Kindness, Goodness, and Gentleness are probably the three most difficult for me to separate out of the Fruits of the Spirit because they seem to blend into one another and sometimes seem interchangeable; but here's my best crack at it. Growing up, I was a big comic book fan: I could read Captain America, The Punisher, and SpiderMan all day long, and anyone who's even thought about comic books knows the common theme in those stories: the battle between good and evil. And yes, doing the opposite of evil is the simplest definite of goodness. In fact, Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary says, "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." What's interesting about that definition is its observation that goodness is a deliberate, persistent choice. Not only do we have to choose to do good, but we have to do it constantly. You only have to be alive for one day to know that we're constantly bombarded with the temptation to do evil, it's just our sinful nature at work.

In the book of Exodus, Moses asked the Lord to show him His Glory. "And the LORD said, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.' " (Exodus 33:19). I just love how God refers to His Glory as His Goodness. In reference to this passage, the New JJohn Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible says, "the glory of the Lord lies in His goodness, and that appears in the works of his hands, in the methods of his providence, especially in the distribution of His sovereign grace and mercy, and particularly in His pardoning grace and mercy, through the blood of Christ." You see, God is the ultimate example of goodness, and we see it in the world He created, and even more so in His compassion for us through the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ, who came to die and offer forgiveness of our sins.

So what now? Psalm 116:12 says, "How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?" Let's look at Webster's definition of goodness, "The quality of being good in any of its various senses; excellence; virtue; kindness; benevolence; as, the goodness of timber, of a soil, of food; goodness of character, of disposition, of conduct, etc." So therefore, to repay the Lord for His goodness to us, we need to also be good. Goodness of character, disposition, and conduct will make us a well-rounded person that God can use for His glory as a witness to the lost: no one likes the crabby or rude Christian, or the Christian who is always getting into the wrong thing. We must also remember to be good to one another: be just, kind, and honest.

So you think I forgot to keep up the song titles theme, right? Wrong. "Thank Goodness" is actually a song from the Broadway show "Wicked" (which is a PHENOMINAL show, by the way). I chose it for this entry because this past Christmastime, Wicked was coming here to Charlotte and I reeeeally wanted to go. My wife tried to get me tickets when they went on sale, but all the shows sold out in a flash. So she, knowing we were travelling up to NY/CT for the holidays, bought me tickets for the actual Broadway version of the show. She really wanted to get me to see Wicked one way or another, so she did...and I had a blast...and I'll never forget it either. It was special to me that she went out of her way to do that. As mushy as it sounds, when I think of goodness I think of my wife: she's always displays goodness of character, disposition and conduct. She always thinks of others, and it's a trait I really admire in her: God has truly blessed me with an amazing wife. There are many people who practice goodness everyday deep down to their core for the glory of God: I'm sure we know at least one. Those are the types of people we should emulate. 2 Peter 1:3-5a says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness..."