“Good” According to Whom?

by Shane Williams
via The Lilbourn Light, Vol. 9, No. 1, May 2008.

Too often people look in the wrong places when they're searching for role models. We look for someone who is a good athlete, one who makes a large salary, or one who commands respect because of their leadership skills.

This seems to be society's recipe for a modern hero. When we look only at these characteristics for someone who is "good," we fail to see that "godly" is rarely considered important.

The world has quite a twisted view of what it considers to be "good." People may talk about good movies, good books, or good morals but they may be anything but good by God's standards, which is the only standard that really matters.

In Psalms 112 we see a clear set of guidelines for what makes a person good. According to the psalmist, a good man fears the Lord (Psalms 112:1), delights in God's commands (Psalms 112:1), and is gracious, compassionate, and righteous (Psalms 112:4). He is generous and exercises discretion (Psalms 112: 5). He is unshakable in his faith, and he has no fear because his trust is in God (Psalms 112:6-8).

Are you looking to be a good man or woman? In a society where so many are anything but godly, how can we set the right example? Look at Psalm 112 again. It's a pattern we all need to follow if we want to be "good" in God's sight and make a difference in our world.