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ARE CHRISTIANS GOOD PEOPLE ?



Good. A four letter word, so simple, yet complicated enough to keep everyone on toes, aiming for it. 
To begin, let's define what good is, according to the dictionary.
1) Having the required qualities of a high standard
2) To be desired or approved of
3) Virtuous, right, commendable
4) That which is morally righteous
And so on...

Majority of people, lead with these dictionary definitions of what good is. Personally, I used to. 

I spent all my life calling myself a good person. Why? Because I really believed I was. I gave to the needy, I stood up for minorities, I WENT TO CHURCH, I empathized with people from different walks of life and most importantly, PEOPLE called me good. On the other hand, when I would meet someone who saw me as something other than good, my ego would be bruised and I would spend that time trying to fix their perception of me. Just to get the magic words out of them "You are good". Recently, I realized, we spend our lives trying to outdo the goodness of others. Something that can and will never be enough because you will soon realize, there will always be someone out there that does it better than you. It's an exhausting rat trap of always trying to prove a point and not even to yourself but to the society around us. I call it, the textbook way of being good.  

But being a Christian, today I want to explore what the Bible says about being good. 

"For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness' "



BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON GOODNESS

We are living in an age where we, as "modern" christians, are pushing back or trying to, so as not to be a footstool of any human being. While on the flip side of it, is to use negative situations to go deeper into what God has to say. And so, it's through someone pointing out that I was flawed and my goodness is not enough, that I went searching for answers and came across a verse that stopped me in my tracks.

Mark 10:18
"And Jesus said to him 'why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.' "

I never even realized up to this moment, that I had been holding my breath for so long. That I lived in this world "trying" for something that was impossible. This verse, highlights that true goodness is an attribute of God alone.

Another scripture that addressed my flawed way of thinking about goodness is:-

2Corinthians 10:12
"We do not dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise."

These statements reminded me or rather, reminds us that human standards of goodness are often subjective and flawed. Just because someone is called a Christian doesn't automatically mean they are good people. We are all sinners and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23)


In conclusion,
The bible says in Romans 6:18
"And having been set free from sin, we have become slaves of righteousness"
Being a slave to righteousness implies being indebted to, or working towards righteousness. As Christians, we strive to live righteously, but we acknowledge that our goodness comes from God, and not from ourselves.

By understanding that nobody is inherently good and that we all need God's grace, we can avoid judging others and focus on our journey towards righteousness.


Shalom.

https://christourway.blogspot.com
https://christourway.wordpress.com

@Talitha Cumi
#Earthsojourner
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