One Word–Three Jobs

One Word—Three Jobs (1,240)

August 16th, 2011

Good, God and go—all three words exist within the word “good.” I like that. Why? Because all three are necessary to achieve earth progress. Our success is simply determined by which word we focus on first.

Too often, those who focus on “go” become more frantic than fruitful. They are convinced that merely burning energy is a symbol of maturity and they leave no room for the “joy of the Lord,” which gives us strength. They are on the move but rarely succeed in moving too many mountains.

Those who pursue a path to goodness often speak in the ethereal or philosophize over actions instead of completing projects. They think there’s power in merely meditating or contemplating.

And those who believe that God is at the center of everything find themselves disgruntled with those who disagree and therefore become self-righteous over their own salvation and purity—critical of those who don’t share the same faith base.

You would think that any one of the words would be able to stand alone and be productive, but in my inexact human opinion, each one feels lonely without the other. So where do we begin?

My choice is to begin with “good.”

“Every good and perfect gift comes from God,” is what the Bible says. Simultaneously, the Bible also says that “not everyone who cries ‘Lord, lord’ shall enter the kingdom.” So there are many people who talk about God who have no intention of ever providing anything good.

What is good? Here’s my definition: Good is anything that explains human life and ends up making it better. That doesn’t leave out animals or nature. Because we share a planet, when we improve human behavior and status, it helps everyone. It also has nothing contrary to God because God loves human beings and wishes the best for them. It’s not that sin is just evil—the problem with sin is that it destroys human lives. That’s not good.

Once we find good, God is never far away. So how do we honor good and honor God at the same time? (Otherwise, we might just end up worshipping maple trees and giving them divine status.) We honor God as we find good by realizing that there are no accidents.

If success is a by-product of our efforts and attitudes, then goodness is the daily chore and achievement of a loving Creator. Therefore, whenever I find good, I thank God. That includes getting a particularly delicious marinara sauce at an Italian restaurant. Sunrises and sunsets are also a perfect opportunity to give a nod to the Sky-maker.

Good is the status of human beings in the act of growing. God is the source of the growth. Simply stated, if you gave good a paternity test, God is always the Father.

Now, when I understand what is good and I am thankful to God for it, I suddenly realize that I have a new-found energy bursting forth from my faith that makes me want to go and create some good of my own. That’s right—it’s a combination of both. “Go” is the instinct that fills every human being when we still believe there is good and we know it must have come from God.

Without “go,” we have mere worship with no explosion of personality. The lack of energy in our society today is the result of believing there is nothing really good and therefore, God has abandoned us. It is a desperate state—one reserved for creatures of darkness—not those created in God’s image.

One word—three jobs.

When I find good and realize that human beings are moving towards excellence, I understand and am grateful for a God who provided such a status. Seeing the good and the God makes me want to go and do likewise.

Sermons cannot motivate people to find jubilation or even direction. It takes goodness to bring focus to God—which makes us want to go.

But how can we initiate goodness instead of just waiting for it to land on our doorstep? Well, that has three parts to it, too. And if you don’t mind, I thought it would be a good thing—of God—to go to that tomorrow.