Live With Goodness!

March 26, 2026

Live With Goodness!

Sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed.  It’s not that I have a lot of things to do; it’s more the state of the world right now.  No matter how long or often I pray, it seems my prayer time is too short to cover all the needs I see in the world.

Although I don’t believe evil will win in the end, it sure seems like evil has the upper hand in a lot of different circumstances and even people.  I try not to go to the place of being cynical or pessimistic or negative or critical.  But, there are times when it seems evil is winning. 

I imagine the Christ-followers who were part of the Christian churches in first century Rome sometimes felt the same way.  There was persecution and violence directed towards those who professed faith in Jesus as the Son of God.  There was imprisonment and torture for those who worshipped Christ as the Lord God rather than bow to the Emperor as god.

Physical harm and death were a real possibility.  The churches as well as most families witnessed first hand the power of evil.  Some days it must have seemed evil was winning.  Some days they must have felt overwhelmed by the power of evil.

As the Apostle Paul describes the marks of the Christian life, he addresses the problem of evil.  In Romans 12:21 Paul writes; “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  Paul does not want us to feel overcome or overwhelmed by the evil we see in the world or we are experiencing first-hand.  Instead, Paul tells us the way to overcome the presence and power of evil is to do good.

Later in his letter to the churches in Rome, Paul, with great confidence, assures the Christ-followers in Rome they are filled with God’s goodness.  In Romans 15:14 we hear; “I myself feel confident about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.”

Paul knows that as long as they are doing good and are full of God’s goodness, evil will no longer have the same power or influence over them nor over their church.

In his letter to a disciple by the name of Titus, the Apostle Paul lists out the qualities for which Titus should look as he selects people to serve as leaders of the church.  In Titus 1:8 Paul writes; “…but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, self-controlled, upright, devout, and restrained…”  One of the most important qualities of a Christian leader is to be “a lover of goodness.”

When we feel evil is getting the upper hand in our life or in our family or at our job or at our school or in our nation or in our world, the Bible tells us to be a lover of goodness.  As I read each of Paul’s statements about goodness, I am reminded that goodness is both who we are on the inside and what we do for others.

Sometime today ask yourself a few questions.

+How is it with your soul today?  Does evil seem to have the upper hand in some part of your interior life?  Or, is God’s goodness in your heart great and growing?  If not, what could you do today so God’s goodness would fill you more?

+How are you doing showing goodness to other people; i.e., family or friends or co-workers or the poor?  Is there something you could do in the next three days to show God’s goodness in you by expressing God’s goodness to another person?

+When other people look at you, do they see you as a person filled with goodness?  Or, do they see you as a person who is most of the time cynical or pessimistic or negative or critical?  How could you begin to change that perception this week?

Jesus is the hope of the world.  The Church is the people the Holy Spirit will use to transform the world.  Even if it seems like evil is overcoming us today, evil does not win in the end.  The victory is in and through the Son of God, Jesus!

When we see the small victories over the presence and power of evil today, let us remember that it is God’s goodness in us and our expressions of goodness towards others that overcome evil.  When those victories come (and they will come!) our heart will be filled with delight. 

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug