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

Peace

In our last post we spoke about joy being the evidence of trust in God. If joy was a pill, than peace would be the effect. You cannot have one without the other.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. Philippians 4:6 – 7 (KJV)


What we see here is a three-fold process. Joy brings forth peace, but both are bound through constant communication with Christ. In the case of Stephen, he was wrongly accused of speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God. When questioned, Stephen gave a speech which revealed a strong conviction in Christ. His response caused the people to be furious and stone him to death. Before Stephen was stoned, he looked up to God and asked for the forgiveness of his accusers. He did not fight back, or declare vengeance upon them. He was totally at peace with his fate. Such resolve did not come from regular church attendance, praying over meals or periodic scripture reading. Rather, this was a result of his consistent, intimate friendship with the Lord.


You cannot have peace if you are constantly robbing God of His supreme position. The control belongs to Him. Peace comes with the understanding that only God reigns over your life.


“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord”. Isaiah 55:8 (NASB)


Once you relinquish control, then everything that enters your life you give to God to handle. You do not have to be concerned for your well-being because you know there is One greater who has your best interest at heart. In other words, peace is not fighting your own battles, but being still and allowing God to work. Peace is the devil’s kryptonite (follow us on another tangent). We all know that Superman has the best powers, but even he has a weakness. Kryptonite paralyzes Superman. It may seem sometimes that the devil has so much power, but he has a weakness too. The devil’s weakness is our peace, which is our total trust in God.


Faith is the source of joy and joy is the source of peace. Faith comes from hearing and hearing comes from the word of God.


“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. Matthew 6:25 – 27 & 33 (NIV)



To being wise,


Meredith, Jennifer and Marisa

Joy

When you think about joy, you think about moments in life that are pleasurable and satisfying. Things that come to mind are parties, gifts, weddings, promotions, friendships, family and love. Joy is a foreign concept in times of suffering and pain. In times of strife we subconsciously go into survival mode, our minds drown with thoughts of worry, confusion, frustration, doubt, anger and fear. These thoughts are innately self-centered and these feelings come from bearing burdens alone. This self-reliance in times of trouble exposes the absence of joy in our lives. Joy is a choice. It is a choice to trust in God in times of happiness and in times of sorrow. Joy is not dictated by circumstance, it is the proof of total dependence on God.


“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance”. James 1:2 – 3 (NIV)


Having trust in God brings you complete joy, but could you be joyful if you lost your job? Could you be joyful if your home was destroyed by a hurricane? Could you be joyful if you were imprisoned for doing the right thing? Paul and Silas did. During their travels, Paul and Silas met a demon-possessed slave girl who was a fortune teller. Being agitated Paul commanded the demon to leave her and she was healed. She lost her powers of fortune telling and because of the greed of her masters no longer able to make a profit from her, they had Paul and Silas beaten and thrown in jail. Rather than blaming God for their misfortune, despite the fact they were doing His work, they chose joy. They were not worried about how they would be released or that their work was being halted, they totally surrendered to God’s all-knowing power. And because of such assurance they sang hymns of praise to Him.


The thing about joy, it is not only for the sufferer, it is for the on-lookers. While Paul and Silas were singing other prisoners were listening and were touched. When you have joy the blessings will follow. God delights in our optimistic attitudes that display complete submission to His sovereignty. Joy is complete loyalty to God. It says “Come what may, I choose not to succumb to my emotions, but to submit to God’s will”.


To being wise,



Meredith, Jennifer and Marisa