In the ’70s sitcom ‘The Good Life” Tom Good left his apparently ‘pointless’ job for a better life by turning his back garden into a mini-farm and becoming self-sufficient. In a way, ‘The Good Life’ portrays the struggle that we often have, where we want to be ‘good,’ but find ourselves in difficult situations, where we are often tempted, and where our integrity is challenged, and sometimes damaged. The challenge for us is, how can we be good in challenging situations where we are tempted to just leave and have nothing to do with people, job, or situation generally – just like Tom Good did when he left his work for the simplicity of life in a suburban home farm? How can we be ‘good’ in situations that are not naturally ‘good’? Or, how can I pursue goodness in a world where there is so much badness? Seek Good – seek God The first thing is to seek what is good. Frank Cottrell Boyce wrote in his play God on Trial (based on Wiesel’s book The Trial of God set in Auschwitz during the Holocaust where a group of Jewish prisoners who decide to put God on trial): You keep asking where does all this evil come from. Well, where does all this goodness come from? It is important to recognise first of all that goodness comes from God. Jesus tells us: “No one is good except God alone.” Luke 18:19 Someone has summarised: “As it is in the nature of water to be wet or fire to be hot, it is the nature of God to be good.” Goodness is grounded in God, not in the shifting standards of public opinion, evolving religious beliefs, or personal development. Seek Good – seek good “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 Seek Good – avoid evil Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:14 There are many ways for us to avoid evil – most of them should be obvious. One that is not so obvious has been told in the anonymous story of a stranger who came to stay in one home: A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mum taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger… he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to their first professional football game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn’t seem to mind. Sometimes, Mum would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honour them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home – not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our long time visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn’t allow us to get drunk, but the stranger didn’t seem to have the same scruples. He made cigarettes look cool. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked… And NEVER asked to leave. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents’ den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?…. We just call him ‘TV.’ Some else has added along these lines: “He has a wife now….we call her ‘Computer.’“ However, I think that that is unfair, since we are much more in control of what we watch on a computer than what is broadcast on TV. But the story conveys the point that while there is a lot of good that we can watch on TV, we have to be very discerning, and at times draw a line in the sand and not watch some programmes, because there is much that is bad there too. Do Good – like father, like son/daughter You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 Do Good – to others Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 1 Corinthians 10:24 Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. Isaiah 1:17 Do Good – return good instead of evil “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Romans 12:17-18 Be Good – We are naturally not good (enough) “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Romans 3:10-12 Paul doesn’t mean that there is no-one who does helpful or charitable deed to others – he is discussing holiness, not beneficial acts. He summarises later on that: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 Be good – in Christ by faith “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” Romans 2:4 We can only become ‘good’ enough before God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ, for forgiveness of sins, and to be judged righteous in God’s sight: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 1 Corinthians 5:21 Be Good — Live good in Christ by his Spirit Christians can only live good lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. We must not rely on our own natural ability because that is flawed. Instead, having first been forgiven and reconciled with God, we must ask for his strength to live good and holy lives, to his glory and not ours! This is because: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness…” Galatians 5:22