We all long for a life of goodness.
We all long for a life of goodness. We might not call it that but living a good life is what we all aspire to. When life is uncertain, and the troubles of the world loom large we can lose a sense of goodness. When we look at all the pain and problems in the world it is hard to see the goodness in it. Think about all the uncertainty you’ve experienced the last few years, think about all the hard things you have seen in the media, add to it the busyness of daily lives, no wonder we can lose sight of goodness.
The Mountain
We in the state of Washington love Mount Rainier. It’s 14,410-foot height dominates the skylines. Many times, it is clouded over, but we know it still is there. When the clouds disappear and the mountain appears again, we smile. We say, “the mountain is out”. Of course, it’s always out. It’s just hidden. When I am driving around a new area I can get disoriented. It is then that the mountain shows up in the most unexpected places. I wonder, “How did it get there? I thought I just saw it in the other direction?”
That is how goodness is. It often gets clouded over by either our inattentiveness or the things that trouble us. But goodness hasn’t changed, it is still there. As we go through life, goodness shows up in unexpected places. Just as driving in an unfamiliar place can disorient us, we can lose our orientation when unsettling things happen. But there it is. Goodness is everywhere.
When I lost sight of goodness, life lost its savor. I started taking things way to seriously. I was not enjoying the good things all around me. I had forgotten the why.
Remember the Why
Remembering they why can restore a sense of goodness in us and through us. A few years ago, I read Simon Senek’s popular book Start with the Why. His Ted Talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” is one of the most watched episodes. Senek inspired me to lead and live with purpose. That purpose keeps me going when life gets cloudy.
He says, “Regardless of what we do in our lives, our WHY—our driving purpose, cause or belief—never changes.”
I love stories that are redemptive. I love it when I see a character change and grow. It is in the struggle that he or she changed. Without it they would not know the goodness on the other side of their struggles.
Stories of goodness keep me looking in the right direction. People who are actively involved with doing good inspire me. They remind me of why I am here.
Here is one of my favorite.
Vera was one of the oldest people in our church. All who knew here loved her. She had a vibrant faith. When she talked with me there was a fire in her eyes that never wavered. A few years ago, she went to a doctor appointment. She noticed a young lady who was sitting by herself. She had many piercings and tattoos. She must have seemed strange to the people in the room because no one wanted to be near her. Vera was not intimidated. If there was anyone in the room who was the total opposite of the young lady, Vera was it. But Vera was not intimated. She saw people differently. She went to the young lady, sat down, and struck up a warm conversation with her. If you knew Vera, you would know that this young woman opened up to her. Vera’s presence, the way she looks at a person- intense and loving- is hard to overlook. Vera saw past the woman’s exterior. She saw a woman created in God’s image who needed to be loved.
This is a huge shift in how we see goodness in the world. When we stop categorizing people, when we stop seeing them as a problem, when we certainly stop judging them by our own lives we can see the goodness that God created in them. Instead of looking at someone who seems troubled or annoying don’t ask “what is wrong with her?” Stop and ask, “what happened?”
The why for Jesus followers is to love God with all our hearts and love others around us much as we do ourselves.
When we do the clouds part, and the mountain appears. Goodness is seen again. We are lifted us up above the commotion of negativity and become more good in a world that longs to see it.
