Gal. 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.” The 6th fruit of the spirit is “goodness,” and is translated from the NT Greek word, “agathosune.” It means “uprightness of heart” and not only speaks of the character trait of being generous but also of the way we are to treat those we come into contact with. It is easy to be good to oneself, but not as easy to be so to other people, especially when it will cost us something. Like with the other fruits of the spirit, the self-seeking world could care less about anyone else.
Worldly people have an overinflated sense of self-importance and entitlement, and when those two are in abundance, being generous to other people is absent. The devil convinces the unbeliever that they are deserving of everything their hearts desire but speaks nothing of sharing. I remember a friend who was married to a wonderful woman. She had lost her wedding ring and was distraught. Instead of taking the money they had saved up to buy her a new ring, he went out and purchased a stereo for himself. He could have done a good thing for his wife, but instead, he thought only of himself. He was blinded to her anguish over having lost the symbol for their wedding vows because of his personal desires. I never looked at him the same way again. Worldly people like him expect and hoard whatever they can, turning a blind eye to those who are desperately in need around them.
They belong to the world and follow its egocentric demands, but you do not. Jn. 15:19, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” Since you were chosen out of the self-serving, entitled world, you have to act in a Godly way. Gal. 6:9-10, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone. Especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Paul says we should persevere in doing good because there is a prize for our continuing efforts. And it is not necessarily only the afterlife Paul is speaking of when he says, “in due season.” While that is the ultimate prize, he also speaks of the present or foreseeable future.
I think of a story I read some years ago. A young woman was working a minimum wage job as a cashier at a local supermarket. On several occasions, she was observed handing out some of her hard-earned money to other people in need. She had no vehicle and had to wake up before the sun rose to catch three different buses to get to work on time. At the end of her shift, she would have to repeat the process, which, by the way, took three hours. Some of her regular customers were so impressed with her dedication and generosity that they purchased her a vehicle to make her life a little easier. We all know of stories like that, where people who did something good were rewarded in special ways. We should not do it for the accolades, but it is encouraging when we are rewarded for our efforts.
There are two things we should remember when it comes to doing good. Firstly, Paul says, “…especially <to> those of the household of faith“. There are too many instances of Christians doing no good for fellow children of God. If we cannot show non-believers that we care for each other and will be there in times of need, how could we expect them to view us as different from them? Who would want to be part of a “group” that refuses to care for each other? Secondly, when we are indeed good to each other and strangers, our light shines before us. Mt. 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” We should also not do the bare minimum; we should do so much good that our light calls to those in the darkness like a lighthouse to a ship lost in dense fog.
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