An Answer To The Age-Old Question: What Is Good?

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors…’ (Deuteronomy 6:18); ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Romans 12:21)

What is good?  It can be a great philosophical debate if you’re into such things.  I am a person that often thinks of these things, ponder them for a couple of minutes, and then like the dog in the movie ‘Up’, I have a ‘squirrel’ thought and so move on to the next windmill to conquer.  But what is good?  In the secular sense it can be subjective, as what is good in my opinion may not be so good in yours.

For example, I like guns; I don’t hide that fact, though I realize some may be horrified by the thought of a firearm.  I don’t hunt, but I’m not offended by it and believe it is a worthy pursuit and one day I may actually go and do one; I’m certain some may have disdain for the practice and perhaps see it as cruel or inhumane toward animals that are hunted.  People can debate what is ‘good’ in terms of child rearing, political activism, and other activities and thoughts or beliefs.

But it goes back to ‘what is good?’ and what is the answer to that question?  In terms of the Biblical Worldview, ‘what is good?’ is simply answered by: ‘Good is what is deemed Righteous by God in obedience to His Word and precepts’.  To do good is to act in accordance with Biblical principles, to be good is to be Godly and virtuous in your thoughts and morals.

In Deuteronomy 6:18, God, through Moses, gives the Hebrews, who have left Egypt and are being prepared to enter the Promised Land of Canaan (after they wander in the wilderness for 40 years) words of warning and encouragement, not to forget who He is and how He provided their escape from bondage.  God tells the people to follow His Word and His Law, and in verse 18 tells them a simple instruction to follow; ‘do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight’.  Or as defined above, ‘do what is deemed Righteous by God, in obedience to Him.’  It is actually an ‘If/Then’ statement, ‘If you do Good, then you can take over Canaan’.  By obeying God, the Hebrews (after wandering around due to disobedience) were finally able, under Joshua’s leadership, to enter Canaan and take over what is now Israel.

The opposite of ‘good’ is ‘evil’.  Evil is unfortunately subjective in the secular realm, but in the Biblical Worldview, ‘Evil is disobedience to God, His Word, and His precepts’.  Evil by another name is ‘sin’; all sin is evil as it goes against God, and all sin is done is disobedience to Him.  Paul in Romans 12 describes ‘good’ is love of Christ and acting in love to others for the advancement of the Gospel, and tells the Christians in Rome (and us) in Romans 12:21 not to allow sin or evil to overcome or override that love of Christ.  When we love Jesus, we follow Him and do our best to be ‘good’.

We often confuse ‘good’ or ‘evil’ with our secular preferences; some love ham and its several forms (I for one am a bacon aficionado) while there are others that abhor anything related to pork.  As we learned with Peter’s vision in Acts 10, what some may personally find as ‘bleh’ (for me, it’s broccoli) others may find it delectable.  Before condemning what others do, say or eat – is it going against God, or is it going against your personal preference?  Examine all things through the lenses of God’s Word and in obedience to Him!