Your Daily Devotional for September 27, 2007

 

September 27,  2007

 

 

Developing God's Goodness

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord."

 

Ephesians 5:8-10

 

 

In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin wrote: "I conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. I wished to live without committing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that either natural inclinations, custom, or company might lead me into. As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right or wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other. But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I had imagined. While my care was employed in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another; habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason. I concluded, at length, that the mere speculative conviction that it was our interest to be completely virtuous was not sufficient to prevent our slipping."

 

As we saw yesterday, God commands us to display goodness, but it is difficult to do that when we are not inherently good! Our nature and our human tendencies do not always tell us to show goodness to others. Yet, God desires that we would honor Him by displaying our goodness to those around us.

 

If we are to show goodness to others, we must first understand the difference between doing good and being good. Doing good relates to how we act on the outside. When we serve in the nursery, sing in the choir, or help someone who is hurting, we are doing good. But being good has to do with who we are on the inside. It is when we make the right decisions and honor God even when no one is around. We can only develop this goodness as we do two things.

 

First, we develop goodness in our lives through God's Word. Contrary to what some people believe, we don't know what is good by our own feelings. If you've ever made a decision based on your "gut feeling" you probably know that feeling isn't always right. We cannot trust our feelings to help us display goodness to others. We must look to God's Word for help and guidance.

 

We cannot be "good" people or have goodness in our lives without spending time in God's Word each day. Mark Twain once said, "It's not the parts of the Bible that I don't understand that bother me. It's the parts I do understand…." As we spend time with God, He will convict us and draw us closer to Himself. He will help us develop goodness in our lives.

 

Second, we develop goodness as we walk with God each day. While this does include spending time in His Word, we must also be actively witnessing for Him and serving Him. The early believers had many accusations against them, but their goodness shone through their works as we see in 1 Peter 2:12, "Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation." Paul tells them that even when others speak evil of them, they were to show God's goodness by continuing to serve Him and witness to others.

 

Are you developing God's goodness in your life today? Are you spending time in His Word, serving Him, and witnessing to others? We cannot always trust our feelings to tell us what is good, but as we develop God's goodness we can display His goodness to others. Spend time with God right now and ask Him to help you develop His goodness in your life. Also take time to read His Word, serve Him, and to witness to someone else today!

 

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Isaiah 3-4 • Galatians 6

 

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