Fruits of the Spirit: Goodness

Galatians 5:16-25 KJV

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Goodness Is:
A focused resolve (2 Thessalonians 1:11) that drives us to become actively involved in the life of another (2 Chronicles 24:16) consistently expressed through generosity (Nehemiah 9:25).

To avoid spoiling watch for selfishness.

What could be a better definition of goodness than charitable contributions? They require us to become actively involved in the life of another which we express through the generosity of a monetary donation.  But sometimes I think we miss an important part of the definition of goodness, the focused resolve.  Sometimes our charitable contributions become less about the charity and more about how it makes us feel, more about a tax write off, more about how it makes us look to those around us.  The key to avoid spoiling the fruit of goodness is to watch for selfishness. It is selfish motivation that causes us to make a donation to any good cause simply because it makes us look better in the eyes of our peers.

My post tonight serves a dual purpose. It is a post about the fruit of the Spirit of goodness that God calls us to live and walk in and it is also my stand on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

We've all seen it. The videos have bombarded our social media newsfeeds. And according to the ALS Association website, the videos are working. $79.7 million dollars have been raised for ALS research from July 29, 2014-August 25, 2014, compared to $2.5 million raised during the same time period last year. I have family and friends who have participated in it and I've even been challenged myself. In fact, I almost made my own video tonight, until I saw another link in my newsfeed. A link about what kind of research the ALS Association uses these donations for. So I got curious and I began to do some research of my own.

The ALS Association uses embryonic stem cells in their research. Research supported by President Barack Obama, who in March 2009 revoked previous Executive Orders limiting government funding for human embryonic stem cell research with an Executive Order of his own. 

"Stem cells are cells that have the ability to divide for indefinite periods in culture and give rise to multiple specialized cell types. They can develop into blood, bone, brain, muscle, skin and other organs. Embryonic stem cells are undifferentiated cells that have the ability to form any adult cell. Human embryonic stem cells are derived from fertilized embryos less than a week old." (www.alsa.org)

According to the National Institutes of Health website, these embryonic stem cells are not only harvested from in-vitro fertilized eggs but from fetal tissue as well. 

These embryos were fertilized for reproductive puposes and when they were no longer needed for that purpose, they were donated to research.

What this means to a Pro-Life Christian like myself, is that they are taking fertilized eggs, embryos, babies, and snuffing out those tiny lives for the furtherance of research.  It also means that they are using stem cells harvested from the tissue of aborted babies,

Is it justified because those stem cells could perhaps cure a terrible disease?

Do we kill the innocent to save the afflicted?

Where is the goodness in that?

There is only one Innocent whose life can save the afflicted. My Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. And His life was GIVEN willingly not TAKEN mercilessly.

Our focused resolve should be on leading the lost to Christ, on protecting the innocents whose life begins at conception, whether it be via in-vitro fertilization or not, and on praying for an ethical cure to be found for the multitude of diseases this world has as a result of our sin.

We should become actively involved in the lives of others, the lost, the afflicted, the innocent, by sharing with them the Gospel of Christ, by praying for them, by loving them.

This should be consistently expressed through the generous amount of time we spend in prayer, in talking with our Savior, in walking with the Spirit.  

Pray for a cure. Protect innocent lives. 

Numbers 10:32 KJV
And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.


Resources:

ALS Association 

National Institutes of Health

Northeast Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Consortium