Goodness Beyond Just Good
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
-Galatians 5:22-23 [ESV]
Goodness and Good are words commonly used for positive things of various degrees:
"How's your day?"
"Good."
"How is the food?"
"It is so good!"
Just as the word love is used for something as simple as your favorite fast food meal and feelings toward your spouse or family, goodness can also be overused. Can your day be good? Of course. Can your food be good? Absolutely. But are those things the same degree of goodness discussed in Galatians 5 when discussing the fruit of the spirit? Not at all.
In Genesis 1, we see the term good used seven times to describe creation. -the creation of light,
the creation of land and sea,
the growth of vegetation,
the creation of the moon and the sun,
and the creation of animals.
Then, in the end, God looked over all that He had created and saw that it was good.
In the New Testament, the term good often discusses good works and good news. We read the challenge to believers to show their love for Christ by doing good works or deeds. Like a tree bearing good fruit, they will know you are a faithful believer based on your works (Mt. 7:17). We also see it in sharing the good news, the gospel proclaimed by those who believe and follow Christ.
But are any of these the ultimate example of goodness? No. The most remarkable example of goodness that we can find in the Bible, and the level of goodness we should strive for, is the goodness of God; while we deserved wrath and judgment, He showed mercy and grace by sending His son as the perfect sacrifice for the sins we have committed so that we could have peace with God.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
-Ephesians 2:4-5 [ESV]
That is the ultimate example of goodness. We truly deserved nothing, yet He gave us everything.
Now, what does that mean for us? For the believer, what does it look like to live out goodness as discussed in Galatians? We currently live in a society filled with division and people losing hope for the future and really in humanity in general. Maybe you have heard someone say that a person's actions restored their hope in humanity. For believers living out goodness is living in a way that causes someone to have faith in humanity restored. Or maybe to not give up hope for the future.
While we know that we are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8-9), we should still strive to do good deeds. James tells us that our works can be, and should be, an expression of faith. Faith without works is dead (Jm. 2:26). Yes, we are saved by grace alone, but we should show love in our good works because of our faith. The range of doing something good can be easy or can be an extravagant gesture. Maybe your good deed is as simple as paying for someone's food at the good fast food place you love. Perhaps it is helping someone unload their groceries. Or maybe it is sharing the goodness of God with someone who has never heard. Regardless, we should strive to be good to people as God was good to us.