When I was a kid, I remember my parents always telling me to “be good.” When I went off to school, I was told to “be good” at school. When I went to church I was told to “be good” in service. And when I went to visit family or friends, I was told to “be good” in other’s homes.
Now that I am an adult, I am always reminded of this and I now repeat this to my son. But what does being good actually mean?
The Bible says in Titus 3:8
This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
God has given us a road map to doing good. And he requires that we be good to others. It’s not always easy to be good or to do good towards others, when they are not being good towards you. But God asks us to do it anyway!
When others attack us or have become our enemy, our first reaction is to retaliate and fight back. But God says we are to “love our enemies and do good to those that hate you.” (Luke 6:27) To some of us (including me) it’s difficult to love our enemies and to do right by them. Why would you want to love someone who hates you?
But God says, to love them anyway! I believe He demands this of us, because once we show love towards our enemies, their hearts will become less hardened and they will eventually come around… they can’t fight someone who doesn’t fight back! And if they continue to hate you after love is shown, then they have to deal with God and not you anymore.
Jesus spent His days doing good and being good to ALL people. He didn’t pick and choose. He didn’t decide that He would be good to some and bad to others. He helped everyone.
God gave Jesus this anointing by giving Him the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave Him strength, ability and power to do good and to heal all who were under the power of the devil – for God was with Him (Acts 10:38). And this power gave Him the encouragement to help people everywhere He went. God has given us that same power to do good! The Holy Spirit that God gave Jesus – He also gives to us.
So everyday that we are blessed to be here we should be good to others. Just giving back to others will give you the satisfaction to continue giving back to those in need. And it will give you the satisfaction to know that Jesus lives within – doing good within you.
Question: How can you be better at “being good” and “doing good” to others on a daily basis?
Be blessed,
Wanda
I am a publisher, author, speaker, youth Sunday school teacher, wife & mother. My goal is for you to be able to read, hear, trust and apply the word of God to your daily lives, so you can live the life that God intended for you to live today!
