Is God Good?

Exploring the concept of goodness as an inherent Divine character trait in the midst of adversity.

Is God good?

It's a question we always ask, even if unconsciously. Especially when things are difficult or uncertain.

Especially now.

We question the goodness of God when tragedy strikes, or even adversity. It is a legitimate question, and one, I think, worth exploring.

Perhaps the first place to start is to define goodness. What I think is "good" may be entirely opposite of what someone else thinks is "good". Therefore, a solid working definition is in order.

Most modern definitions of goodness are so broad as to be entirely vague. For instance: the quality or state of being good, useful, etc.

The New Testament biblical definition of goodness as listed in Galatians 5:22 is the greek word agathosune, meaning virtue or beneficence (the quality or state of doing or being good).

In a 1998 article written by John W. Ritenbaugh, he explains a bit about the difference between the greek meaning and the richer original Hebrew meaning of goodness:

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible commentary on Galatians says of these two words: It [agathosune] is the widest word for goodness; it is defined as "virtue equipped at every point."

What is the difference? Agathosune might, and could, rebuke and discipline; chrestotes (kindness) can only help. Trench says that Jesus showed agathosune when He cleansed the Temple and drove out those who were making it a bazaar; but He showed chrestotes when He was kind to the sinning woman who anointed His feet.

The Christian needs that goodness which at the same time can be kind and strong. (p. 51)

Agathosune is therefore active—even aggressive—goodness. The English word "goodness" includes many pleasing qualities whereas the Greek word indicates one particular quality. It is more than an excellence of character; it is character energized, expressing itself in active good.

You can read the entire article here.

If, as a parent, I do not allow my child to eat ice cream exclusively, most parents would say I was a 'good' parent. My child might beg to differ. Even so, I am aggressively pursuing the good of my child's health by proactively giving them the best possible food to eat that will fuel their growing body.

Additionally, circumstances do not change character traits inherent in us as individuals. If my hardworking friend loses his job because of a company shut down, the circumstance of being unemployed does not make him any less hardworking than he always was.

In my opinion, the difficulty we have with our original question, "Is God good?" perhaps stems from our misunderstanding not only of the character and nature of God but also possibly from a low emphasis on our inner growth as humans beings made to reflect the Divine in our own right.

Let's face it; it's far easier to buy something new and wear it or drive it than to work on our character development.

If we are honest, we define 'good' as 'feels good' or 'easier rather than more difficult' or 'anxiety and pain-free.' None of us wants to experience difficulty. It is easy for us to feel that if God were truly good, he wouldn't want us to experience any difficulty either.

The problem with this line of thinking is that now we have a dichotomy. Not one of us would argue with the idea that if we want to get stronger, we must lift weights, suffer a bit, and experience some difficulty, soreness, and possibly pain. Every professional athlete sacrifices to push themselves to become more physically. Most of us agree that, at least to a certain extent, this is 'good' for our physical bodies.

What if a significant aspect of the goodness of God is that, while he is never the cause of tragedy or difficulty, he uses those things for our good?

What if he never wants us to waste an opportunity to become stronger, both externally and internally?

What if what we have experienced and overcome is the very thing we can help other people through?

Ps.145:9 says, "The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation." (NLT)

The glory of God is that he is good. When Moses asked to see God's glory, God made all his goodness pass by Moses. Exodus 33:19a And the Lord said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence..."

It's a great passage to read as God reveals all the amazingly good things in his nature.

It is also interesting to note that the one question that has been asked since the beginning of time is this very same question:

Is God good?

Eve doubted it in the garden of Eden story. It's why she chose to eat the forbidden fruit. Her logic? 'If God were truly good, he wouldn't withhold this thing from me.'

Please hear me; some of us have been through truly horrific experiences. We wonder why we had to live through those experiences. If God was good, why couldn't he have prevented them? Why couldn't he have waved a hand and spared us all the trauma?

In short, I don't know why. What I do know is that he promises to make the ashes of our situations beautiful in a way that is impossible without him. I know this because I have experienced it. It is why he sent Holy Spirit (the Comforter) to be always accessible to us.

If we were never in need of comfort on this earth, we would not need a Comforter.

Isaiah 61:3
[God sent Jesus] to care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit. (MSG) (Cross reference Luke 4:16-21)

What if part of the goodness of God is that he simply, really loves us? That he actively pursues us to be his friends? That he wants to have a relationship with us, do life with us, talk about the things that are important to us?

What if part of God's inherent goodness is that he accepts us as we are? That he loves us without us having to jump through hoops and reach certain goals first (unlike every other structure on this planet that I can think of at the moment)?

Maybe it is our own wounds and mistrust that keep us at arm's length.

Many of us are willing to trust spiritual sources that are capricious at best.

Why do we struggle to trust God? Perhaps because we simply aren't certain he is good. We have an idea of who he is and how he operates that may not be entirely accurate. I don't think it matters if you consider yourself a spiritual person or not. We all question the nature of God at times.

Whatever your stance, I encourage you to ask God the hard questions. Ask him to show you who he is. Look to see if he is good or not.

After all, if he is God, he should be able to manage to show you something about himself. Anyone seeking a relationship with another person must at some point put themselves out there.

That road goes both ways.

When I am interested in finding out about someone, I am a sucker for biographies. For those of you looking for some biographical references, here are a few places to read about God's goodness in his biography (the Bible).

Nahum 1:7
Psalm 136:1-3
Luke 18:18-19
Psalm 34:5-8
Jeremiah 29:11-12
Genesis 50:20
Lamentations 3:22-26
John 3:16-17
2 Peter 3:9
1 Timothy 4:4
Psalm 27:13

In closing, my personal experience of God is that he is the kindest, most forgiving, most amazingly good person I have ever met. I did not always think this of him. For years, I was just plain mad at him. I did not believe him to be good at all, and I did not want to have much to do with him.

But all those years when I was not good, God continued to be good to me.

He was kind when I was not.

He was good when I didn't deserve it.

He loved me when I was making a concerted effort to be unloveable.

After years of this sort of thing, I finally dared to trust him just a bit. And he proved himself to be consistently good.

This is my experience of God, once I decided to trust him enough to want to really know him.

You will write your own story based on your own experiences with the goodness of God.

Blessings on your journey.

Categories: : Equipping, Fruit of the Spirit, Goodness, Mindset