Worth The Risk

Neighborhood walks with my three boys have turned into nightly confessionals.

It seems like every night, out of the blue, one of them will take a moment in the middle of the walk to get something off of their chest.  In their childhood wisdom, I think they know the statute of limitations has expired on their crimes, and I’m not going to do much about a coke can lobbed into a neighbor’s yard two years ago.

In a strange way, I always find these moments rewarding because, more than anything, I pray my kids will be good people.

What does it mean to raise good kids? What does it mean to be good? When I look at the life of Jesus and the scriptures, I think it means doing the right thing even when it hurts.  

The fruit of the spirit of “goodness” might sound like the most palatable, but it might just be the hardest to swallow. The Bible shows again and again that goodness has a cost. In Philippians 2:8, Paul tells us Jesus suffered an enormous cost for bringing good into the world:

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!

When the Spirit of God is inside of you, goodness isn’t easier; it may be more costly, but you know the outcome of it. Our God is a God who works all things together for good. What others intend for evil, He intends for good. For us, like Jesus, bringing goodness into the world may have a cost, but we keep going.

What is goodness costing you? What does doing right, as God defines right, regardless of the cost, mean to you? Trust the Spirit to keep doing good. It may be that you are afraid of the consequences of doing the right thing, even though you know what the right thing is to do.

Just like my kids, I think we all have that fear. But as I said to myself last night after a delayed confessional, it’s never too late to do a good thing!

Pastor Jared

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