Good is the little sibling of great, at least in the secular hierarchy of this age. Good is the second-place trophy, the silver medal, the red ribbon. It is my honors society “B+” to your valedictorian “A.” (Congratulations.) Greatness gives the victory speech; goodness gets a charitable mention. Great are the achievers; good are the nice guys. And “nice guys finish last.” Or so it is said.
Yet great is not always the superior of good; in fact, worldly greatness is often achieved amid a dearth of godly goodness. We’ve all quoted this familiar maxim from the nineteenth century British historian and politician Lord Acton: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Our recitation ends there, but Lord Acton continues, “Great men are almost always bad men.” He speaks of earthly greatness — position, power, wealth, all of which are too often attained not through goodness but through guile.
But God calls us to something greater than great: He calls us to goodness. Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man and a member of the ruling council, yet his Biblical esteem arises from his character — “a good and righteous man.”1 Barnabus is likewise honored as “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.”2 And listen to how Peter described Jesus to those gathered at Cornelius’ house: “He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”3 Referring to Jesus as “good” or “doing good” strikes us as an understatement, but it is not, for God himself is by nature good.
So what does “good” mean to God? Cue the prophet Micah: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”4 This is goodness at its greatest. This is faith in action. It means doing what is right and speaking what is true; it means eschewing all that is evil or false. It means not striving to please our sinful desires, but living to please the Spirit.5 In this sense, goodness is lived day by day, moment by moment, encounter by encounter.
Then what must we do? Paul’s exhortation of old remains relevant still today: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”6 This is what winning looks like in the Kingdom of God. Your crown awaits you there.7
Good Father, thank You for Your Spirit who fills us with goodness8, and who leads us to good works.9 Strengthen us to trust and obey today. In Christ we pray. Amen.
1 Luke 23:50 ESV
2 Acts 11:23 ESV
3 Acts 10:28 ESV
4 Micah 6:8 ESV, emphasis added
5 Galatians 6:8
6 Galatians 6:9-10 NIV
7 1 Corinthians 9:25 NIV
8 Galatians 5:22-23
9 Ephesians 2:10 NIV
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Paul Nordman—Author 