Scripture

Proverbs 3:27 NIV

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.

Consider

The Message translates the above passage this way: Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God’s hand for that person.

It is a wondrous responsibility, being God’s hand for a particular person in a particular situation. And the truth is, sometimes we don’t feel like handing out goodness, especially to people who have hurt, angered, or offended us.

It’s important to realize that the sort of goodness the Bible talks about is more than kindness and generous words. Goodness is the very nature of God that we take on when we choose to follow him. Goodness is our ideal self. It is the image into which God’s Spirit is reshaping us as we submit ourselves to God’s authority and counsel.

To withhold goodness from others means to hide the light of God’s presence and power in our lives. God chooses to shine through our loving words and reconciling behaviors to love and woo a world of people who do not know or care for him. Our joy and privilege is to shine God’s light to every person we meet in every circumstance of our life, without exception.

It is the nature of light to shine strongest in the darkest places. You can shine goodness into the dark corners of your relationships, where harsh words and painful memories linger and continue to wound. Despite the difficulty of your situation or the degree of hostility you encounter, you always have the power to speak and act with integrity because God’s good and powerful Spirit lives and shines in and through you.

Pray

Good Father, I remember how you befriended me when I did not care for you or your ways. You won me with your kindness. Your love and mercy brought me to repentance. Give me grace to love and forgive those who have not earned kindness from me. Use me to shine your goodness into whatever situation I find myself.

Reflect

Matthew 5:14-16; Luke 6:32-36

Ponder

How does it feel to receive goodness from someone when you were expecting hostility?