Galatians [5:22] “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
To begin we should try to better define what is meant by the word Goodness. The Fruit of the Spirit is all about who we are as Christians. If the Spirit lives in us, we will show evidence of these things. Goodness may also be called Benevolence. Not necessarily the act of benevolence, but we being benevolent persons. What would be the extreme opposite of Benevolence? Extreme Greed to the point of not caring at all for its effect on others. Wanting all for ourselves.
Benevolence is wanting something for someone else. Being able to wholeheartedly want another person’s life to improve. What lies in that murky middle ground where we all live? We say we are benevolent and some people have a real gift for wanting to give to others. But this is a bit different in my mind. Goodness is giving or desiring for others without any sort of a benefit for ourselves.
I am not a psychologist but I know that there are all sorts of hidden agendas for why we give to others or wish them well. Sometimes it is a form of control. People give in order to gain loyalty from others, to gain recognition for having given, or to get a warm fuzzy feeling for themselves. We may give, but not the best we have. Give but resent doing so. Or justify reasons not to help. We would certainly wonder about a person’s Spiritual life if we saw that they had an extreme case of greed. God desires good for the people He created. God’s Spirit living within us will desire the same. Let’s look at our fruit called Goodness today and be sure that we move one step closer toward giving in the way God desires.
As we head into the Thanksgiving Holiday it is a privilege to bring to you this opportunity for self-reflection. This series of devotions are written by Harriet Bowman and allow for us to consider the work of God’s Spirit in our lives.