Saturday, March 08, 2014

In this segment, we will look at the virtue of “goodness” which is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. What we will examine is godly goodness not a worldly concept of doing good. People will often do good in order to get the praise of man in the form of applause, being thought well of, their name on a building or listed in a program, etc. Things done with this type of motive are not things done out of a godly heart that just wishes to please God and bless others.

Galatians 5:22–23 (NKJV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness [KJV – gentleness], goodness, faithfulness [KJV – faith], ²³ gentleness [KJV – Meekness], self-control [KJV – temperance].

The definition in the Greek Language for the word “goodness” used in Galatians 5:22 is as follows.

19. ἀγαθωσύνη agathōsunē, ag-ath-o-soo´-nay; from 18; goodness, i.e. virtue or beneficence:— goodness.

18. ἀγαθός agathŏs, ag-ath-os´; a prim. word; “good” (in any sense, often as noun):— benefit, good (-s, things), well. comp. 2570.

When we decide to be given to benevolence, the walking out of goodness, it should be because it is something that God has instructed us to do and for no other reason. Any alms, benefaction, acts of kindness, or contribution we make to another person’s life should only come from a heart willing to do as God desires them to do, for goodness is born out of virtue and virtue produces benevolence toward others. Goodness towards others can take many different forms from giving a friend the $1,000.00 they desperately need, no strings attached, to buying a stranger a hamburger and everything in-between.

Here are some examples of how we might express godly goodness toward God, self, and others as well as through service? We express goodness toward God when we are willing to sacrifice what we want in order to contribute to what He wants us to do, for we are contributing our time and money to His cause, not our own. By taking the time to care of ourselves with proper rest, food, and exercise we are showing ourselves goodness, for all three benefit our lives. When we go clean the house of a sick friend, we are showing goodness to them. That phone call we make to another who has lost a loved one to death is showing goodness to them in a society where to pick up the phone and actually talk to another person takes too much of people’s precious time, so they text for convince. Preparing meals for those who are overloaded with stress, sickness, or grief can be a tremendous act of service exemplifying the virtue of goodness.

If you are spreading goodness to others as an act of agape love for people and an even deeper love for Christ then you are acting with godly goodness. If you are doing good toward another in order to score points with them or God then you have your reward for you are acting out of worldly motives.

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

¹¹And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.