What does a good person look like? Obviously, it’s not about looks at all! When a man came to Jesus and addressed him as ‘Good Teacher’, the reaction was not what he expected. ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone’ (Mark 10:18). Yet the Bible tells us that Jesus spent his life doing only good (Acts 10:38). Perhaps we need to examine what “being good” actually means.
How does one measure goodness? It probably depends on who sets the standard. If somebody gets 70 per cent in an exam and everyone else got below 50 per cent, then 70 per cent is a good result. However, that changes if everyone else got over 80 per cent.
Is being good just a case of being better than somebody else?
That’s not what Jesus taught. God sets the standard, and even as God’s Son, Jesus was not willing to accept that description of himself. In the Old Testament of the Bible, the word ‘goodness’ is always used of God. In the New Testament, its use extends to those who are sincerely trying to follow Jesus. Galatians 5:22–23 lists what those who belong to Jesus should aim for: ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.’
The man who came to Jesus was asking what he could do to inherit eternal life, as if it were something he could earn. Jesus reminded him of God’s commandments, and when the man said he had kept them from his youth, Jesus could see that he was telling the truth. But he could also see that there was something hindering the man from committing himself completely. He owned a lot of property. It meant so much to him that he couldn’t bear to think of selling it, giving the proceeds away and following Jesus (Mark 10:19–22).
Doing something good doesn’t make us good people. God asks us to be willing to change and become the sort of people He wants in His kingdom. Some changes are painful; we might need to get rid of an attitude or habit that has become a big part of our life. Jesus reassured his disciples that ‘all things are possible with God’ (v. 27).
Jesus lived out the example of putting God first in every part of his life. Even so, he didn’t regard himself as good. He was still mortal when the man called him ‘Good Teacher’, and could still have chosen to do wrong. When he was raised from the dead and God made him immortal, he was no longer having to struggle against temptation to sin. If we focus on being the people God wants us to be, He will work with us: ‘He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ’ (Philippians 1:6).
Rachel Leah