The next aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is “goodness” (Galatians 5:23). The Greek word that is translated for “goodness” is agathosune, which is defined as “virtue” or “beneficence.” This is still a very broad concept that I would like to narrow down a bit so we can practically apply it. However, we do need to keep in mind that it is a broad and expansive characteristic that every Christian should have.

We often think of goodness as the opposite of being evil, which has some application, but it is much more than that. It is more of a verb than a noun. True goodness is active and practical. It is far more than just having a bleeding heart for people’s problems; it is doing something about them.

In Acts 10:38 it says, "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him.” That is one of the best definitions of the Lord’s ministry while He walked the earth. This is in fact what should be said of every Christian. The Lord has not changed, and He is seeking to do the same things through His body, the church, which He did when He was physically walking the earth.

Jesus went about “doing good” because “God was with Him,” and God is good and loves to do good. He lives in us and uses us to do good for others. Therefore, if we are united with Him in our hearts, there will be that same nature of always looking for how we can do good and help others. The Holy Spirit is called “the Helper” (John 14:26) because it is His basic nature to help. If we are truly “Spirit filled” we, too, will be filled with the nature of the One who wants to help others by doing good.

In the above verse, we also have a definition of how Jesus did good—He healed all who “were oppressed by the devil.” He did this by the power of the Holy Spirit, and as the verse concludes, was the evidence of God being with Him. True goodness is practical, and for anyone who is sick, or has a loved one who is sick, there is nothing you can do for them that they would appreciate more than healing. That is why healing was such a basic part of the Lord’s ministry when He was here on the earth physically, and still is one of the primary things He wants to do through His body.

Healing is another very expansive subject that we will study later, but for now we need to consider that it is basic to our calling as His representatives on the earth because it is basic to revealing His nature of wanting to do good for people. For those who are afflicted or oppressed in this way, healing is the most “good” that could be done for them.

As this is actually a study of the end of this age, the conditions that we can expect to unfold on the earth and how we are to be prepared for them, growing in faith for healing is going to be increasingly critical for the church in these times. We are coming to the times when human remedies will fall far short of the emerging problems.

Medical science has done a wonderful job in many ways, greatly raising the health and quality of life for multitudes. It is right for doctors to be esteemed as one of the most noble professions, but medical science will not be able to cope with the things that are being released in the world. Remember, “the harvest is the end of the age” (Matthew 13:39), and the harvest is everything that has been sown in man coming to full maturity, the good and the evil, and the consequences of each. Disease is going to be getting more powerful, and viruses are going to be mutating beyond the ability of any human remedy. We must come to know Jesus as our Healer, and we must be vessels that Jesus the Healer can use in these times. As disease and the fear of them increases, this is one of the ways that the goodness of the Lord will shine brighter and brighter in the increasing darkness.

Because “goodness” is a basic characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit, those who are growing in the Lord will demonstrate an increasing desire and ability to do good for others. Consider these biblical exhortations to:
 

We are exhorted to “not grow weary of doing good,” and it is something that we should expect to have to deal with. Weariness is not just a physical problem, but a spiritual one. We grow more weary when we start losing hope, or feeling that our labor is not making much of a difference. As we see the mammoth problems come upon the earth, which will seem to be multiplying in spite of our best efforts, there can be a tendency to become weary and lose hope. However, every soul that we can touch and do good for has infinite value, is greatly loved by the Lord, and worth all of our efforts.

If there was a great king, and you were able to save or rescue one of his children, wouldn’t that be a great deed? As a father I know how much I appreciate anyone who helps one of my children in any way, and our Father in heaven, the King over all kings, is likewise deeply appreciative of anything we do to help one another. As we are told in Hebrews 13:16, “And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” One of the main things that will keep us from getting weary is doing what we do for the Lord even more than for the people.

We must love people and want to help them for their own sakes, and many we help will not even express appreciation. Remember the ten blind men that the Lord healed? Only one even returned to thank Him. Can we expect more? However, if we are doing what we do for the Lord more than just for the people we have our satisfaction in knowing how much He appreciates it, which we are told in Galatians 6:9-10:

Here we are encouraged to not lose heart in doing good because we will reap if we do not grow weary. There will be a reward and a harvest. However, just as a farmer does not plant a seed, water it, and then stand there waiting for the fruit, we, too, need to understand that even though we may not see it for a time, the true work occurring in people’s hearts is often hidden for a long period of time, but there is going to be fruit from our work. This is why we are given the interesting exhortation in Ecclesiastes 11:4-6:

To state it more basically, we must not look too much at the outward conditions but sow the seed of good works whenever and wherever we can, because we trust God to use them the way that He desires, and to bring forth the harvest. As Romans 2:6 above states, “while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”  

When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, we determined to have this resolve. We knew this was a great opportunity to do good for many people who were desperate for help, and we resolved to do this without distinction, but for “all men.” We wanted to help anyone we could, but “especially those who are of the household of faith.” We wanted to do this not only because they are family, but so they could be the help of their communities, and therefore the local people would be drawn more to the local churches as their benefactor.

Working through local churches is important for the long-term recovery of that region, because more than just rebuilding the region, we want to see it rebuilt on the foundation that will not be shaken the next time. When a shaking such as this comes to a region, and everything that can be shaken is shaken, it is to expose the shaky foundations that people build their lives on. Since we have a kingdom which cannot be shaken, the main way we can help people in all such situations is to lead them to a foundation that cannot be shaken so this kind of thing does not have to happen to them again. I am not helping someone much if I help them rebuild on the foundation that will only prove to be as precarious as the last one. So, while we are seeking to help in the most desperate immediate needs, feeding people, giving them water, and other basic provisions, we are looking to help them in a much more permanent way as well.

In Tolstoy’s classic novel, War and Peace, Count Pierre is filled with compassion for his serfs and desperately wants to help them. He talks about it frequently and sincerely wants to do it. His friend, Prince Andrey, is not motivated by compassion as much as he is in sound business principles and good management, but because he runs his estates so efficiently his serfs are several times as well off as Pierre’s. Pierre certainly talked about helping the serfs more, and really wanted to, but who did the most good?

In my opinion this is pretty typical of the difference between liberal and conservative politics in our country. I think, in many areas, liberals have a right heart toward people and issues, but their remedy often leaves conditions actually worse and inevitably become a huge waste of resources. Conservatives, and those who are motivated more out of sound business and management principles, often are simply wanting to develop more markets rather than actually having compassion, but they still often do far more good for people. This is why Winston Churchill once said, “If you are not a liberal when you are twenty you have no heart, but if you are not a conservative when you are forty you have no mind.”

Government is prone toward bureaucratic remedies that will inevitably become so inefficient that only a fraction of the resources will actually get to the needs. The same has happened to many large charities and has also happened to many church programs and ministries. Can this be why the Lord, who certainly emphasized the condition of the heart, also taught a lot about pragmatic economics, such as with The Parable of the Talents?

There are far more references in Scripture about financial planning and management than any other subject, including love and compassion. This does not mean that financial planning and good management are more important than love or compassion, but it does mean that it takes more of our attention and focus to do things efficiently, and that is how God wants them done.

Would it be better to have the money to feed five thousand people every day or the spiritual authority to multiply a couple of hamburgers into enough food to feed that many? I think we would all choose the latter, but the Lord said that He would not trust us with “true riches,” which are access to the resources of heaven, unless we are faithful with our “unrighteous mammon” (Luke 16:11). This is why we have a responsibility to be givers, and share the material resources we have been blessed with. But let us also have responsibility to see that it is done in a way that actually helps people and really does some good. True goodness is much more than just having good intentions—it is actually healing people, setting them free, and leading them to the Source who is alone the answer to all human needs.

When we recently sent a team to a remote village in Africa to dig wells for them, I was shocked to learn how many thousands of such wells were being dug throughout Africa, and were no longer working. Some only worked for a few weeks or months until they became inoperative for the lack of a simple part like a washer. As great as the intentions were for these ministries to supply pure water to these people, without a simple maintenance plan, or teaching the Africans how to maintain the wells, huge resources were wasted, and the hope of these villages were turned into a greater disappointment. One of the ways that we determined we could best use our resources for this was to find out the location of the wells, fix them, which usually costs just a tiny fraction of what is needed to drill another well, and put them on a simple inspection and maintenance plan to keep them going.

With all of our compassion, we must start thinking practically, and for a longer term. Africa is experiencing an unemployment rate of 85 percent or more in some regions. They are very eager to learn. Why not train some of them to both drill and maintain these wells? That is of course what we are seeking to do, but we must, with all of our compassion and desire to help, help people by being better managers of what we are being entrusted with. We need to have our efforts doing some good.

As Christians, we also need to examine where we are putting our charitable gifts. I quit giving to the United Way when they quit giving to the Boy Scouts. United Way quit giving to the Boy Scouts because the Boy Scouts have a wise and very practical stand against having homosexual scout leaders. We have a responsibility to see that our gifts are used righteously as well as efficiently.

There has been a tendency of much of the church to swing too far away from social efforts because it does seem that ministries which are given totally to social efforts often succumb to humanistic tendencies and philosophies. In the times ahead, the church must become what most of our buildings are called: “sanctuaries.” As I recently told a U.S. senator who called me after Katrina, the government is going to run out of resources and will not be able to keep up with the problems ahead, but the church that is abiding in the Vine has access to the resources of heaven that can never be exhausted.

The church is going to emerge as the frontline and first defense against all that is coming. We must get ready for this. I am praying now for much greater resources than the Federal government has. I know for the Lord to trust me with greater resources I must use them to truly do good and to do this efficiently. Let us use every opportunity now to do good, and learn every lesson so that we can do even more good the next time our neighbors need us.