Don't Let Goodness Go

Though I have never yet sat through a sermon without Papa pointing out areas in my life that need improvement, I am often struck even more soundly by some word or phrase, mentioned in passing, that sticks with me and continually tugs at my heart until I am forced to do something with it.  My pastor let loose one such phrase this past Sunday night.  In the midst of a sermon on thankfulness, Brother Shane made the following statement, "Don't let goodness go."  As soon as it was out of his mouth, I was writing it down in my Bible.  "How appropriate," I thought, "and how needed."

Image borrowed from www.vitesse.com

In this modern, hurried, over-worked, and over-burdened society, we have countless things that we are asked to concern ourselves with.  Nearly every media outlet begs us to focus our attention on one tragedy or another.  There is war in the middle east.  Fatal shootings in the next city.  A case of child abuse, drug use, rape just a few streets over.  Our economy is struggling if not failing outright.  Our insurance is expensive if it even exists at all, and everything causes cancer.  We are inundated daily with a message of hate, hypocrisy, and negativity, and it is killing us... and that is exactly what the enemy desires.  When he can use the evil that seems to grow daily in a fallen world to separate us from the source of our strength, the battle that we are fighting is already lost.  Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that the joy of the Lord is our strength;  if we, then, allow that joy to be stolen from us, then all satan must contend with is a disgruntled group of churchgoers who honor God with their lips but are unable to tap into the strength that they were always meant to have.  

Paul, perhaps more than any other figure in the New Testament, understood the fact that joy is essential, and that joy comes from focusing on the good things of this world rather than dwelling in negativity.  In Romans, he cautions the church to "cleave to that which is good."  In the original Hebrew, this term might be translated as "to glue to."  Paul's emphasis here cannot be understated.  We must hang on to goodness for dear life and refuse to let go.  We must practice goodness.  We must do good works.  We must focus on the good things around us.  Continually refusing to do so, continually focusing on the negative allows the enemy a foothold, a stronghold, by which he can overcome the believer.  Several times throughout his letters to the churches, Paul warns us to hold fast to that which is good, understanding that it is only possible to overcome evil by doing so  (Rom 12:21).

Image borrowed from http://chipstokesblog.blogspot.com

In his letter to the church at Phillipi, Paul reaches the height of his teachings concerning our focus on goodness and joy.  The Phillipian church was not only the first church at which Paul preached in Europe, but it is a shining example of what a church should be.  They never failed to support Paul in his ministry, and their goodness and faithfulness left a testimony that has lasted for nearly 2000 years. In fact, Paul tells the Phillipians that he thanks God for every memory that he has of them, noting that they were the only church to consistently provide for him (Php 4:15).  Thier love and charity would be (at least in part) what sustained Paul through his time in prison.  It is in his letter to them that he notes that he has learned to find joy and contentment even in bondage, and cautions them to remember that no matter the situation, it is vitally important to focus on the good and to never, under any circumstances, let goodness go:  "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Php 4:8).