Fruit Of The Spirit
Pt. 6 Goodness
Galatians 5:13-26

The fruit of my flesh is JEALOUSY and ENVY
Before sin, God made humans to do good and be happy to see other people blessed by God’s goodness. But sin brought jealousy (Gr. zelos, ‘burning feeling against someone’) and envy (Gr. phthonos, ‘bitter minded, glad at someone’s loss’) into the human condition. Despite living in affluence in one of the most prosperous nations in the world at the most flourishing time in human history—jealousy and envy are everywhere. No amount can cure the self-sickness of jealousy and envy. Whether over pets or jets, jealousy and envy start at dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction is a perceived lack that arises from thanklessness to God (James 3:14-16; 4:1-3). Jealousy is the poison of a selfish heart gone dark to God. Jealousy is the state of living where you can’t enjoy the blessing you have because of the blessing someone else has (Prov. 14:3)!

The fruit of the Holy Spirit in me is GOODNESS
The concept of ‘good’ in the world comes from the goodness of God. Humanity wouldn’t know what ‘good’ was if God wasn’t good or displayed good in the world. God’s goodness is often shown in physical, spiritual, emotional, financial, and relational blessing. God is good and does good (Ps. 119:68; 145:9)! The Holy Spirit helps believers care about goodness (Gr. agathōsunē, ‘uprightness of heart and life shown in the world’) and someone else’s well-being. Doing good and benefiting others instead of ourselves is powerful as it can overcome evil and change lives as a witness to others (Rom. 12:21). Christians should never be insecure about doing good as God can bring good out of any situation for them (Rom. 8:28). God is good all the time, and all the time God is good (Ps. 37:3; Gal. 6:10)!

I need to act with more GOOD in my life
Goodness is connected to generosity as it mirrors the generosity of God. The goodness of God is given to God’s children so they can show good in the world and glorify their good God! Doing good should influence our affluence (Prov. 11:25; 2 Cor. 9:11; 1 Tim. 6:17-19). How will people see the goodness of God if they don’t see the goodness of God’s people? The goodness of the heart should translate to the generosity of the hand. If God is good and does good, then God’s children be good and do good!