“Hang on to what is
good.”
1 Thessalonians 5:21 (Common English Bible)
Attempts to
define “what is good” are often found to be inadequate. Goodness is difficult
to describe but it is wonderfully easy to recognize. We know goodness when we
see it and it is a thrilling experience. There is an attractiveness about it
that captures both the mind and the heart and goodness proves to be a powerful
quality in shaping the disposition of those who observe it. Goodness is a
mighty impulse whose radiance gives beauty to the soul.
Perhaps
more difficult than defining goodness is articulating how goodness is achieved
or produced. Some have argued that goodness is born and that effort to generate
goodness is therefore futile, but is an observable fact that character can be
changed. In view of the fact that goodness has the capacity to positively
impact the environment of all human interaction some attempt, however feeble,
is called for. Though there is no perfect formula that produces completely the
results we desire, scripture does provide help.
The apostle
Paul writes in Philippians 3:17 that we are to become imitators of Paul and to
watch those who live as he does – to use those with good and godly behavior as
models. Here, Paul suggests that a prime condition for generating goodness is
simple observation that instructs and infects the heart toward participation in
its beauty. David Downie says as much in his book, Paris, Paris: Journey Into The City of Light: “A day spent
loitering here teaches you more about Paris and its inhabitants than many a
scholarly tome.”[i]
This is well demonstrated in the experience of the apostles. In spite of
conspicuous limitations and weaknesses, each became good men chiefly as a
result of their acquaintance with Christ – their decision to simply spend time
with Jesus and learning through observation.
Goodness is
also produced by the disciplined application of those principals taught by
Jesus for a holy life. Regular prayer, reading and application of God’s Word to
one’s life, and participation in God’s work in the world produce productive
soil for the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes in his first letter to
Timothy, “Train yourself for a holy life!” (1 Timothy 4:7b). The regular
discipline of “training” for the holy life breaks down the barriers which
hinder the organic development of goodness. Behind anything that is really well
done is a long period of self-discipline and mastery, which shape and define
the character or skill that is desired. Goodness can be produced in any life.
What is required is that we place ourselves in regular contact with those who
model goodness and then discipline our spirits that we profit by the
experience.
Joy,
[i]
David Downie, Paris, Paris: Journey Into
The City of Light (New York: Broadway Books, 2011), 18.
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