A: God is a Spirit, whose being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth are all infinite, eternal, and unchangeable.
give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:5)
4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)
Thoughts: How do we know God is good? The Zoroastrians thought that there are two gods- basically equal- one good and one evil. Devil worshipers think the devil has the upper hand. There are many whose life is hard- in their eyes and so they think God is mean. Ironically, some of those with the most worldly blessings think God has not given them enough health, money, beauty, strength, time. Some of the poorest people in the world are grateful to God for what they have. The phrase, "God is good...all the time; all the time...God is good" came from people in poverty and slavery. Perhaps they saw the contrast that human beings are not good (theologians call it "total depravity" meaning that wrongness affects every part of us). Many who think human beings are good have ironically a hard time thinking that God is good. In a political year in which the flaws of every candidate are drug out into the open air, one should be able to say minimally that "no one is perfect." Many of us just float through life not thinking about good or evil until we experience suffering or pain, and then it is hard to judge or think clearly about such things. Some of the new atheists (Dawkins, Hitchins) use the old argument that if suffering exists then God must not. Randy Alcorn writing in the new book, "If God is Good" says, “This is one of the great paradoxes of suffering. Those who don’t suffer much think suffering should keep people from God, while many who suffer a great deal turn to God, not from him.”
But even more important than all of the above is the definition of "good". Good should not be defined simply from a personal, self-centered perspective of comfort. Ironically, today in this generation when we ask someone if they're okay or comfortable they say "I'm good" (only slightly different from the old southernese- "I'm fine"- even though my hand is chopped off). Is good a social value- that is whatever the majority thinks is right? If so, those in Nazi Germany who had the majority opinion that the Jews were valueless were good. Majority and might do not make right (or good). The question remains for those who do not believe in God- and think that we are all one materialistic, cosmic accident- why bother? If all we are is a bunch of random atoms/molecules, then what difference does it make if we love or hate? Should we go back to Nietzschean/Darwinian ethics that the survival of the fittest is good (Hitler saw the Arians as the fittest and should thus dominate based on Nietzsche). Good is best defined by a constantly good and faithful God. The life of Jesus is a visible example for Christians of good. He embodied goodness and love. Without God, I would say, there is no final, ultimate reason to even define good- much less do it. But the goodness of God elicits us to be good, and calls us away from selfishness and simple-animal-like survival. Christ in his coming, his living and his sacrifice embody selflessness, humility (even of God Almighty), love and human kindness. Ironically, he embodied goodness without the values of our day of sex, military/athletic power, and popularity. God has not only told us what goodness is, He has shown us in Jesus Christ- which gives us faith, hope, and love.
Prayer: Help me, O Lord, in evil times to believe in your goodness. Help me to fix my eyes on Jesus and His goodness, and follow in His steps.
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