A Good Thing [Devotional]

Devotions ChopChop ^ | January 29, 2009 | Dave Miller (tenger)

[tenger]

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:9-13

We see “goodness” all around us, usually without trying too hard. Obviously, though, there's a lot of evil, sick, twisted, and just plain bad stuff in the world too. Perhaps it’s time to change the lens we've been looking through. Some say the glass is half empty; some say half full; some say the glass was too big to begin with. And I realize that as I write this many people around the world (many of them Christians) are undergoing intense persecution that no man, woman or child should ever have to go through, so I don't want to be a Pollyanna and see only positive things.

Because there's a lot of bad stuff, we have to train ourselves to view the good. Watching an elderly couple walk down the street hand in hand is a good thing. Observing a child obey his parents is a good thing (some might even say a great thing!). Watching the sun set or rise is a good thing; watching someone paint that sunrise is also good. Spending time praying for a woman in the hospital is a good thing; spending time with that person in the hospital is also good. There are literally thousands of good things out there.

The Bible tells us we need to cling to those good things. Hang on to them and jot them down because, yes, you will see and hear about evil in the world. But we also can witness and actually do some of those good things. It doesn't have to be grandiose or the absolute best thing you’ve ever seen or done. The world needs more plain, ordinary, run-of-the-mill goodness, the goodness that comes from a changed life in Christ. You don't have to do it; you get to do it.