Goodness

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22 – 23, NASB).

How is goodness different than kindness? My initial thought is that kindness is in relation to others; are we kind to someone, while goodness relates to our behavior; like a child is acting with good or bad behavior. At this point one is tempted to get an English dictionary and check both definitions, but we must remember that the verse was not originally written in English but in Greek and then translated into English. To really understand these two words, we will need to go back to the Greek.

If you click on LINK you will be directed to a Net Bible web page for Galatians 5:22 where you will see several different translations and links to definitions to underlying Greek words. For example, if you place your cursor on the number 5544 underneath kindness you will learn the Greek word from which kindness is derived, which means “moral goodness, integrity”. If you place your cursor on the number 19 underneath goodness you will learn the Greek word from which goodness is obtained, which means “uprightness of heart and life”. This didn’t help too much so let us search further.

This time instead of placing the cursor on the numbers we will click on the numbers with a left click and see what we get. For kindness we learn of a relationship to “usefulness, i.e. morally, excellence (in character or demeanor)”, also “the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic”. For goodness we learn about “virtue or beneficence”, and “that which is pleasing or valuable or useful”. As I struggle with this I wonder what the two Greek words meant in that heart language. For me my heart language of English tells me that kindness is what I show to another; in a way, how I come across. On the other hand, goodness is how I behave under certain conditions; my virtue or good qualities. I believe goodness relates to what I do. Maybe the bottom line is, “I am seen as kind when I am good to others.” Kindness is how I am seen when I am engaged in acts of goodness. If I don’t do acts of goodness I will not be seen a person of kindness.

If I am abiding in the love of God then when the going gets tough I will be able to exercise acts of goodness to those who mistreat me. God’s love gives me the ability to act, where without it I wouldn’t likely be able to.