Goodness

What does it mean to be good?  Is it charity work? Is it helping the homeless and the needy?  Is it walking the neighbor’s dog?  Is it paying your bills on time and having good credit?  It is getting regular exercise and eating healthy?  Is it saying please and thank you?  These are all good things, but to be good is a very different thing indeed.

According to Jesus in Mark 10:17 – 27 none of the things mentioned above are indicators of goodness.  Only God is good and goodness can only come from Him.  In the story of the rich young ruler a wealthy young man comes to Jesus asking what he needs to do to gain everlasting life.  He boasts of all the “good” things he had already done.  Jesus tells this young man to give up his entire wealth to the poor and to follow Him.  The story ends with the rich young ruler leaving saddened by Jesus’ request.  We do not know if he heeded Jesus’ advice or not.  But the lesson Jesus is imparting is very clear.  Actions do not dictate goodness; rather, it is the motive behind the action.  In our society we have a prescribed list of actions that are deemed “good”.  Though these actions appear and are good, if the motive is self-serving then it negates the element of goodness.  What were the motives behind the rich young ruler’s actions?  He believed that:

1.       In doing good, he was good.

2.       In doing good, he expected to receive good in return. 

3.       In doing good, he earned a place in heaven.

Here is where he got it wrong.  He did not lie, kill, steal, commit adultery and he honored his parents.  These things were noble, but it did not make him good.  He believed that his goodness was determined by his good actions and this entitled him to good rewards.  Here is what he got the most wrong.  He believed that he could earn his way into heaven.  That power belongs to Jesus and no one else.  What is alarming about this story is that the rich young ruler attempted to be good without having a relationship with God.  This is why Jesus exposed his flaw in valuing earthly things over a personal relationship with Him.

We do this all the time.  We ask God for things in our life that we desire without bothering to maintain consistent and quality contact with Him daily.  When we do “good” things that make us “good” we believe we are entitled to the things we have asked Him for.  When we aren’t doing “good” things, we bear guilt.  These attitudes reveal self-reliance instead of God-dependence.  And that was Jesus’ point.

What are the things you must give up to follow God?  And are you willing to do it?

To being wise,

Meredith, Jennifer and Marisa

Kindness

Being truly kind is usually not convenient.  We are often tested with an opportunity to be kind at the busiest or most inopportune times in our lives.  If you heard about a classmate who was filing for bankruptcy, what would you do?  Would you go out of your way to do all that you could?  Would you do anything at all or would you gossip about it?  What about a church member?  If you heard that a church member was desperately in need of help with their children, would you offer your time or your resources?  What if you were driving through a dodgy part of town and saw someone being beat up and left for dead in the gutter?  Would you stop?  Would you get out of your car, put yourself in danger and help that person?  WHAT WOULD YOU DO?!

A certain lawyer asked Jesus “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”, in response, Jesus asked “What is written in the law and what is your reading of it?”, the lawyer replied “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.”  Jesus said “You answered rightly”, but the lawyer said “Who is my neighbor?”   It is here that Jesus begins to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan (please refer to Luke 10:30 – 36).

There are three things that stand out to us in this parable.  1) The kindness of the Samaritan, 2) the kindness of the innkeeper and 3) the charge that was left to us by Christ.

1)      The Samaritan.  The half-dead man was seen by three different men.  It is important to note that the man was a Jew and appeared to be dead, which according to the law deemed him unclean to touch.  A priest sees the man and assumes, without looking, that he is dead.  He crosses the road to pass the man by.  A Levite sees the man, looks him over and without close investigation, assumes he is dead and passes him by.  However, when a Samaritan sees the man, in spite of the danger, the difference of their ethnicities and his own limited resources, he stops.  The Samaritan stops, looks and investigates, he does what the victim’s own people would not do.  He had rationed out oil and wine for his journey and yet he used his provisions and camel to tend to the half-dead man’s wounds and transport him to safety. 

 

2)      The Innkeeper.  The Innkeeper shows another form of kindness.  The Samaritan leaves the half-dead man after one day and leaves two Denarii (roughly 28 days’ worth of money, think of it as 28 days of hotel fees or around $2800).  The Samaritan trusted the Innkeeper to care for the man until he returned and expected him to pay for any additional expenses.  This Innkeeper used all his resources, time and effort to heal this man.

 

3)      Our Charge.  Likewise, we are called to be Innkeepers.  Like the Innkeeper, Jesus has given us Denarii in the form of time, homes, money, talents, spiritual gifts, etc. to be used in service to others.  As the Samaritan brought the half-dead man to the Innkeeper, Jesus will present individuals in need at our doorstep.  Can we be trusted?  Will we use all of our resources to help?  Or will we be too inconvenienced or too preoccupied to stop, look and investigate.

 

When we live our lives filled with kindness, these acts draw the attention of others to the abnormality of the situation.  Kindness is not a normal human attribute, we are conditioned to pay only what we owe and give only what is required.  God does not operate that way, He gives us far more than we deserve.  His loving kindness bestowed upon us through endless grace is the source of our ability to be kind.  Kindness reveals the full countenance of God within us and imparts His favor.

To being wise,

Meredith, Jennifer and Marisa