June 27 - Good vs. Good
June 27
Good vs. Good
Bible Reading: Genesis 1:1-12
1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. 6Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. 9Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
PEOPLE USE THE word good in a lot of ways. In fact, a lot of commercials and advertisements use the word good. See if you can match the slogan with the product it advertises (answers are given below):
1. IT DOES THE BODY GOOD A. MAXWELL HOUSE COFFEE
2. GOOD TO THE LAST DROP B. CAMPBELL’S SOUP
3. GREAT TASTE NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD C. SUNNY DELIGHT (CITRUS DRINK)
4. M'M'M'M GOOD! D. MILK
5. THE GOOD STUFF KIDS GO FOR E. SPECIAL K CEREAL
See? Sometimes good can mean "tasty." Sometimes it can mean "healthy" or "nutritious." Sometimes it means "pleasant." And sometimes it means "attractive."
But good also means "right" and "moral." That's what a mother means when she says, "Be a good boy at school." That's what people mean when they talk about "do-gooders." That's what the Bible means when it says, "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good" (Romans 12:9, NIV).
It can be confusing, can't it? Sometimes good means "tasty" (like "good food") or "pleasant" (like "good music"). But sometimes it means "morally good," the opposite of evil. But you know what makes it even more confusing?
A lot of people think that moral goodness is no different from other kinds of goodness. They think, "Hey, you like chocolate, I like vanilla. You think lying is wrong, I don't." But that's wrong, because they're confusing two different kinds of "good."
People can have different tastes or opinions about what foods are good, what music they enjoy, and what colors they like; but when it comes to what's good and what's evil, what's right and what's wrong, that's not up to you or me to decide. It doesn't matter what we like or don't like. All that matters is what God says is good. He has already told us what's good and what's evil. We can argue. We can disagree. We can ignore what He says. But we can't make up our own version of "good."
REFLECT: Have your choices today been good, meaning "right" and "moral"? Has your behavior been like God? Pleasing to God? If not, take a few moments to ask God for His forgiveness.
ACT: Be alert to the various ways you hear people use the word good. Ask yourself, "Are they using the word to mean 'tasty,' 'pleasant,' 'attractive,' or 'healthy' (which depend on a person's taste or opinion), or do they mean moral goodness (which doesn't depend on taste or opinion)?
PRAY: "God, thank You for teaching me what is good. Help me to hate what is evil."
The answers to the matching exercise above are: 1(D); 2(A); 3(E); 4(B); 5(C).