Go do Good for God

In the Catholic Tradition, capital letters are used to indicate absolute Truths. When comparing worldwide religions, any 'g' is not capitalized when talking about 'gods' or other deities, but only when speaking of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (If you look at ancient texts of the Judaic faith, even 'Yaweh' was spelled with all capital letters and no vowels as YHWH due to reverence for the name.) When speaking of being "Good," then, it is a state beyond what could be attained without pursuing God.

When I think of someone being good, I think of qualities like well-behaved, well-mannered, accurate, successful, kind and the like. However, when I think of something being good, I think of qualities like well-made, a job well done, aesthetically pleasing, comfortable or high quality. The difference between animate vs. inanimate objects' "goodness" are intrinsic vs. extrinsic characteristics. The latter's qualities are due to an animate being's exertion. The former, however, while capable of producing good facets by themselves, is only able to produce "Good" qualities by external influence as well.

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"The difference between animate vs. inanimate objects' "goodness" are intrinsic vs. extrinsic

characteristics."

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When I think of God, I don't think of a being who was content simply by being. He played an incredibly active role in the creation of the world, and played required role in our salvation by sending His son to die for us. We can be good by obeying the commandments. We can choose to never kill anyone, or choose to always be honest, but is that enough? When Jesus came, he gave us two new commandments. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself." That means we have to go beyond solely following the "do not's" and follow the "do's.

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"We have to go beyond solely following the 'do not's' and follow the 'do's.'"

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Can we do good without God? Sure. There are atheists who have found success in the world. But in order to do Good, God must be involved. John 15:5 tells us, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." Similar to what we discussed about chastity, it seems easier to not do something bad than to actively choose to do something good.

The "status quo" varies based on how we set our expectations. What does Jesus call us to? "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19-20). In Jesus' commission to the disciples, he used an active verb: "Go." He didn't tell them to 'wait' for Him to return. He didn't tell them to 'avoid' others or 'keep to themselves.' He told them to share all that he taught so others could have that Goodness within them too.

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"In Jesus' commission to the disciples, he used an active verb: 'Go.'"

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How are you Going and doing Good for God? What steps could the Holy Spirit help you take next? Is there an area of life you need to focus more on the "do" and less on the "don't"? Goodness comes from God, and he wants to share it in abundance. Perhaps we're called to do more than simply a job well done... Perhaps the job the Lord is calling us to is yet to do discovered and developed.

Seek it. Find it. Do Good with it. Allow God's external Goodness influence your internal qualities, and become the holy vessel He has called you to be (2 Tim. 2:21).