He passed me on I80 going about 80 MPH. His Harley Davidson was decorated with skulls, the back of his leather jacket emblazoned with a death head, topped by the word “Omerta.” The word is code among members of organized crime for their silence about the activities. The basic principle of omertà is that it is not "manly" to seek the aid from legal authorities to settle personal grievances. As he went around my Honda, he gunned the engine, spattering the loud noise of exhaust in my ears. His message? “I am bad!” I laughed quietly to myself at his display of ‘badness’ wondering if it was a Sunday afternoon persona or if he really was a bad guy?
Being seen as bad is a sought after trait. Wholesomeness is generally
despised, a choice for the weak or unimaginative. Rappers strut and swagger,
spewing lyrics about sex and violence that make me cringe. The rock bands of my
youth were noted for their excesses of sex, drugs, and lawlessness. The media industry continues to push the
edges of acceptability. Foul and profane
language is so common it barely gets our attention. All this is thought to be a kind of
sophistication, but is it?
God wants those who love Him to show goodness. Paul urged early church leaders to teach disciples to
"devote themselves to doing what is
good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live
unproductive lives." (Titus 3:14, NIV)
The list of the evidence of the life of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22)
includes these traits – goodness,
kindness, patience, and gentleness. Do
you desire to be known for goodness? Peter teaches those who follow Christ that
"It is God’s will that your good
lives should silence those who make foolish accusations against you."
(1 Peter 2:15, NLT)
"This is a trustworthy
saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted
in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good."
(Titus 3:8, NIV) That word, “good,” is a translation of the word, “kalos”
in the Koine Greek of the original Scripture text. That word includes the meaning of beautiful, worthy, admirable, excellent, and
genuine. A Christian who acts
rebelliously, whose life is filled with filthy speech, who admires violence,
whose eyes are full of lust and greed, is not good and needs to grow into the
beauty of His Savior. Those who center
their lives on Christ Jesus will care nothing for being “cool” or “bad” by
social standard. Make NO mistake. True goodness is not about some kind of external
pretense or naïve avoidance of life’s ugly reality! Goodness goes the core, a reflection of God’s
character, a desire for what is life-giving, whole, and beautiful!
The Psalm celebrates the whole quality of the godly life.
"Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers.
But they delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about his law.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail.
Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper.
"Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers.
But they delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about his law.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail.
Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper.
But this is not true
of the wicked. They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly.
They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly.
For the Lord watches
over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction."
(Psalm 1, NLT)
Christian, we need to rediscover the joy of living good
lives. Those are filled with God’s
wisdom will not practice the pseudo-sophistication of this present world that
allows them to sin on Friday night and sing God’s high praise on Sunday
morning. A person of true wisdom will
"show it by his good life, by deeds
done in the humility." (James 3:13, NIV)
Take a few moments to prayerfully meditate on this
passage. May the Spirit relieve you of
any sense of self-consciousness as you pray to be one of the good guys for God’s
sake. “Become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked
and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
as you hold out a the word of life.” (Philippians 2:15)
_______
Father, may my life be filled with the beauty of holiness.
Help me to reject the pressure to shape my life around those
things
That are socially acceptable – that make me a ‘cool’ person.
Rather, may Jesus be seen in me –
Loving, kind, gentle, pure, trustworthy, honest, and
transparent
In every word, every action.
Holy Spirit, work deeply to transform my heart so that
Evil and temptation lose their grasp,
Replaced by goodness and desire for godly things.
Give my life a real ‘star quality’ as Your radiance shines
through me.
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