“Pastor, I want to be good to everybody. What can I do to be a good man?”

Being good to everybody is not within the scope of possibilities available to man. You’d recall how a certain ruler addressed Jesus as “Good Master”, Jesus’s response was that no one is good. Let’s see how scripture puts it:

Luke 18:
18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

I believe what Jesus implied is that man can only operate within the confine of God’s purpose for him. And sometimes, a man’s purpose may even pose a threat to another man – if he refuses to align. Despite the fact that a man’s purpose may affect another man, God has pre-planned everything to work together for good.

If you see anybody or any people who were affected by another man’s purpose, it must be because they failed to align themselves to that purpose. Recall Romans 8:28, it says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”. This scripture doesn’t refer to the called alone, it also affects those who love God. If you hate or disregard God, then you’d be negatively affected by the purpose or assignment of the called.

During baby Jesus’s dedication, Simeon literally told Mary that Jesus’s purpose will lead to the fall and rising again of many in Isreal. If you’ve read the story of Jesus in the bible, you’d clearly see why those who fell were affected by Jesus’s purpose. It was either they disregarded God, or they didn’t know the true God. Anybody who loved God and lived by His leading was preserved in some way.

So this world may call you a good man just because you do good things. You don’t even have to be a Christian to be a good man in this world. But we must understand that the one who is good is God. He has pre-planned that everybody who loves Him will see good despite the transitions through the assignments or purposes of man.

I’ve shared over and again that I lead a Christian fellowship where I work, and while many people who attend the fellowship are being transformed, I know a fellow Christian colleague who doesn’t accept my beliefs. He’d argue with principles that doesn’t require argument. He’d argue to a point that even colleagues who are not of the same faith with us begins to think that he’s cursed. Honestly, I would have also thought that he’s cursed if I didn’t understand this principle. To him, I’m not a good man, and making efforts to present myself as good to him will be a derailment from my assignment. Asides him, there’s one other colleague who claims to be a prophet – just because he sees things in the spirit. He believes that the only messages a preacher should preach is consecration and holiness. He had to stop attending fellowship because I wasn’t following his expectations, rather, I let Jesus lead me through His Spirit.

Just last week, the first colleague I mentioned literally begged me to buy him lunch, and I wondered how a person who claimed to know it all doesn’t know that Christians don’t beg for things, we live by faith. I’ve known both colleagues for almost 7 years now, and I can’t really say that the principles they claim to know are working for them. Yet, I keep going from strenght to strenght. The more confusing part is, even with the changes they see in my life and in the life of those that follow my teachings, they’re still not convinced.

It will be difficult for me to be rated as good to them as long as they don’t accept by purpose. Christianity isn’t just about how good you present yourself, it’s about presenting the purposes and principles of the Spirit of Christ to this world. And truthfully, as long as you choose to live by the principles of Christ, the people of this world may not always perceive that you are good.

If you want to be good to everybody, you’d have to live by the body. And according to scriptures, if you live by the body, you shall die. The true way to live as a man is to live through the spirit, and living through the Spirit may not always guarantee that you’d be good.

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

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