For Goodness sake

When I went to India in Dec 08, I became suddenly aware of just how self-oriented we can be as Americans.  I’m not just talking about being selfish, but self-oriented. It seems that if we are unaware of it, underneath the majority of our activities we have ourselves in mind.  We seek friends to add enjoyment to our lives.  We look for a raise to add to our financial status.  We can serve others while being motivated by the good feeling we get when we do it.

Through the rapid process of building intense relationships with these wonderful people, I realized this by contrast.  I saw the hearts of those we lived with and laughed with.  I became aware of how they were more others-oriented than I had ever been.  It seemed that at the bottom of their actions of kindness was a genuinely selfless love for others. I felt like they were better people because of it.

What would Jesus say…

If you had to rate people according to their good-ness, where would you rate him?  He hated religion.  He loved messy people.  He related to the poor and marginalized like few in history.  He touched the untouchable, taught the unteachable, and led the unleadable.  He lived as a poor man, yet had an impact on history so significant it changed time itself.

He lived the way he said life should be lived.  He predicted his own death and miraculous power over it, then it actually happened.  He healed sick people not based on class or prominence.  And when he did heal them, he seemed interested in their stories, and uninterested in the notoriety that such healings would undoubtedly create.

Even though he obviously had power enough to stop the trial that was based on suspicion and fear, he didn’t.  Even though he could have explained himself before the leaders who held his fate, he didn’t.  Even though he could have died before the cross, he didn’t.   Even though he could have removed that crown of thorns that was placed on his head, he didn’t.  He was self-less to the end.  Instead of spitting the venom of vengeance on those who murdered him, uncomplicated and unhindered forgiveness continually flowed from his heart through his mouth.  He proved his own words.

Even though there are those who choose to believe he was not the Son of God, few can deny that he was by all definitions a good person.

Yet when a follower asked him a question and called him “good teacher”, before he even answered their question he said,

Why do you call me good?… No one is good except God alone.

The words of that declaration seems to gain substance when I read them.  They jump around in my experience and stir up pictures of people I have called good.  They recall the tone of conversations I’ve had about such-and-so being a “good person.”

But Jesus re-aligns the standard, redefines the word, sets things straight.  Only God alone is good.

In my opinion, even on our best days we couldn’t reflect the goodness of Jesus on his worst day.  And he refused to be called good, deferring that quality to God alone.

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The people I met in Tamilnadu taught me about the goodness of God.  Jesus taught me about the goodness of God.  And I’m learning about doing good, for goodness sake.

There have been seasons in my life when serving or volunteering was something I did, ultimately, to feel good about myself.  Maybe even to make up for something.  Maybe just to have a tangible experience of doing good so I can see my selfishness by contrast and learn to choose the higher way.  And there are times more recently, when I have walked away from packing boxes at Feed the Children satisfied for having done a good deed.

Though it is acceptable for my kids to end with that, I believe God wants a deeper level of maturity out of me at 40.  I believe he wants me to do it for him.  With my mind on him.  Less about the act, and more about doing it for the sake of Goodness Himself.

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