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TWO GOOD PEOPLE!
When Don Richardson, author of Peace Child,
initially shared the gospel with the Sawi Indians in New Guinea they were unresponsive. In
fact, they were not impressed until Judas Iscariot's true nature was revealed. Then
they came alive! Cheers and laughter erupted. They applauded
wildly for this man! For in Judas they saw a skill they admired. They
saw someone who had the skill to penetrate the inner circle, gain the confidence
of the disciples, and then sell their leader out for 30 pieces of silver.
In this masterpiece of deceit, the Sawi Indians
saw Judas as a good man, a very good man. But Jesus, in John 6:70
- 71, labeled him as a devil. John writes,
Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen
you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71 (He meant Judas,
the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray
him.)
While others may think of betrayal as a worthy
attribute, the Bible tells us otherwise. It is evil, not because most
of us believe that it is evil, but because the Holy One of God declared it
to be evil.
In like manner, the Bible spells out for us
what it means to be a good person. For example, Psalm 15, in one long
sentence, describes a good person in the following manner. It reads,
LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may
live on your holy hill? 2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what
is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart 3 and has no slander on his
tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, 4
who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath
even when it hurts, 5 who lends his money without usury and does not
accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be
shaken.
In the New Testament, the major word for "beauty" which
is normally translated as "good" is the Greek word kalos. In
his book Secrets to Inner Beauty, Joe Aldrich writes,
It (kalos) is often used to describe the outward
form of an object. When used of a person it refers to that which is healthy,
sound and organically whole. The person is kalos if he (or she) is pleasant,
attractive, and creates a favorable sensory impression. When it is used
of things, it can mean that which is organically healthy, fit, serviceable,
well adapted to its purpose. It is used to describe metal which is genuine,
sterling, flawless. When used of a place, it refers to a suitable and
convenient one. When used of a time, it denotes the right or appropriate
time. When it is used of the inner disposition of man, it usually portrays
that which is morally good.
Generally, however, the Greeks used kalos to
describe the outward, external manifestations of agathos, or the "good." They
recognized that behind the visible, observable kalos was the "invisible" agathos. Plotinus
taught that the outward, visible manifestations of beauty in this world are
simply reflections or specific illustrations of the agathos, the divine universal
or unitary idea. What he is suggesting is that the agathos, the universal,
takes form in the kalos, the particular.1
I bring this word study to your attention because
in I Peter 2:11 - 17 Peter commands us to be "good" people. But
in so doing he uses these two Greek words, both of which are translated as "good" in
our Bibles. We read,
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers
in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing
wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every
authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14
or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend
those who do right. 15 For it is God's will that by doing good you should
silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 Live as free men, but do
not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17
Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God,
honor the king.2
In v. 12 the two words translated as "good," is
kalos and is sometimes translated as "beautiful." So Peter
is telling us that we should live such good lives, beautiful lives, that others
are attracted to us, even those who tend to find fault with everything. Furthermore,
this goodness ought to be such that it can be seen by anyone - not that we're
doing it to be seen but that in doing it, it is simply seen by those around
us.
But in v. 15 the word used for "good" is
agathos and it is a doing of "good" that isn't necessarily seen by
others as much as it is sensed by others. In the world of work it's more
of an attitude than a particular action. It's a willingness to accept
any job the boss gives you without complaining about it. In the political
arena it's showing respect for the process, it's trusting that God can work
through a group of unlike minded individuals as easily as he can direct a stream. It's
yielding to others, while resting in the fact that God will meet all of our
needs. It's placing ourselves below another person, letting them
be in control of some aspect of our life.
In the little book of Ruth we find two really
good people who are good for different reasons. The first is Boaz - a
wealthy landowner who demonstrates grace to those around him. He is
a godly man who expresses the heart of God toward others and he does so in
a very practical and observable manner.
The second person is Ruth - a destitute woman,
an alien in a strange land. Furthermore, she is a Moabite. This
means that most Israelites would just as soon kill her as give her the time
of day. Yet, she turns out to be a good person - but not because she
had anything to offer anyone. She turned out to be a good person because
of an attitude of submission toward others in her life.
Boaz, our first example of goodness, was godliness
in street clothes. When we first meet him (Ruth 2:4) he greets his employees,
his harvesters, with the words "The Lord be with you!". Throughout
this little book we see godliness in this man by the words he speaks to others. Here,
he speaks to his employees in a friendly manner and evidently has a habit of
verbally blessing them. In turn, they seem to respect him which suggest
that he not only likes his employees but genuinely cares about them.
Furthermore, in his first conversation with
Ruth he blessed her on the Lord's behalf. We see this in Ruth 2:11 -
12 where we read,
"I've been told all about what you have
done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband-how you left your
father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did
not know before. 12 May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May
you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you
have come to take refuge."
People like to know they are valued and this
is best communicated in words. This is a truth that Boaz believed and
practiced on a everyday basis. So on this day, a destitute woman hears
someone essentially pray for her asking God to bless her. Wow! That
must have made her day!
Second, Boaz noticed people. He noticed
someone he had not seen before working in the field and inquired about her. Upon
learning of her, he quickly went to her and gave her some helpful advice. He
was the landowner, the boss, but he was quick to do what he could to meet the
needs of others.
Third, he is a man with a pure heart. He
is a man who is quick to protect those who are most vulnerable in a foreign
culture - young women. On this first day, he made it very clear to his
men not to touch this woman or they would have to answer to him. In Ruth
2:9 he makes it clear to her that he has told his men not to touch her.
Later on, when she makes a midnight call to
him while he is asleep on his threshing floor, it would have been easy
for him to lay with her. But instead of taking advantage of the opportunity
we discover that he is more concerned with protecting her reputation. He
sends her home before sunrise so that no one will know that she came to him
in the middle of the night. For even if they were told of the reason,
and it was a legitimate one, they would not believe it.
Fourth, his godliness is revealed in how he
uses his resources. He is a man of great wealth who gladly shares it
with others. That is, he doesn't protect his wealth by hoarding it. God
has allowed him to prosper and in turn he uses his wealth to bless others. For
example, in Ruth 2:14 - 16 we read,
At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over
here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar."
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered
her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15
As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Even if she gathers
among the sheaves, don't embarrass her. 16 Rather, pull out some stalks
for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke
her."
Instead of standing aloof from others he eats
and drinks with ordinary people, readily sharing all that he has with others. Then,
surprisingly, he goes beyond what is required by the law and has his men intentionally
leave some stalks behind for her.
Clearly, Boaz was an attractive man, a man who
drew others to God. But why was Ruth so attractive? Perhaps, she
had natural beauty. If so, we're given no evidence of it. Instead,
we see someone who was willing to submit themselves to the circumstances and
to those in authority over her. She submitted and trusted God to place
her in a field where she would find favor with someone.
Some would say she was foolish - trusting in
blind luck. But Ruth committed herself to the hands of God. And
our God exercised his mighty power on her behalf above and beyond her wildest
dreams!
1 Ezekiel 16:13 - 14 reads, "So you were
adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric
and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became
very beautiful and rose to be a queen. 14 And your fame spread among
the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you
made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD." These verses
suggest that beauty is the possession and expression of the nature of God.
2 These two Greek words are also used in Romans 7:18 where
we read, "I know that nothing good "agathos" lives in me, that
is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good "kalos",
but I cannot carry it out."
PETER: THE MAN AND HIS LETTERS 2/03/08 1
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