By: Justin Dillenschneider, Director of Student Life
Week of February 22nd, 2022
Goodness can be defined as the personal quality of being morally upright or pure. Goodness is part of the fruit of the Spirit that Paul lists in his letter to the Galatians. Anyone who has been to a classical Christian school’s Open House or conference has heard that we desire to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty. Rarely do we see this explained in detail, but these are core and transcendental values that God has revealed to us. When we study virtuous living and ask questions about morality and purity, we are essentially asking the questions: What is good? Who is good? Why do we call someone or something good? Jesus tells the rich young ruler that only God is good, but it is rightly a characteristic of followers of Christ that we are growing in goodness. How then do we grow in goodness?
Continue contemplating goodness by looking at this week’s scripture reading from
2 Peter 1:5-7 CSB
“5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”
We want to encourage you to have a conversation this week about the virtue of goodness.
Consider these discussion prompts together:
- What tempts you to fall into perfectionism?
- Where have you seen people fall into evil thoughts and actions? Where are you tempted to do so?
- What are some ways you see Christ correcting perfectionism or legalism in people in Scripture?
- How do we see the apostles and the early church modeling and celebrating goodness?
Hymn to Sing Together: To God Be the Glory