Episode 289: I’m Talkin. . .Good

I’m talking episode 289 for October 29th, 2023.

This is Joel from the I’m Talking Microcast, where I share my thoughts on a topic that has piqued my interest this past week.

This week, we’re talking good.

Good is a simple word.

I think it’s a word we learn early in our lives.

It’s something that we may be taught.

It’s just something that is an easy word to learn and to say, I think, for very young children.

And so, we often think of it as simple.

But as I started thinking about it this week, I was convinced that it wasn’t so simple.

There are so many levels to good.

What is it that we’re comparing?

What level of things are we comparing?

Is it the fact that a door creaks and then you oil it and it doesn’t creak anymore, so now the door’s good?

Or is it a really bad situation that has been solved and so now that’s good?

And you can think of it in so many different ways at so many different levels, that from a child up to kings of countries and leaders of countries and presidents and how they might use it and what they might be comparing.

And therein lies the challenge for those of us who call ourselves Christians.

There are times as a Christian that I think about words and whether or not we can actually use them.

I’ve had conversations with my kids about using the word lucky.

And as a Christian, are we allowed to use that word when we know that our God is sovereign and he knows what’s going to happen?

And I think it’s a matter of how we use it, where we use it, when we use it kind of thing.

And then there are other words that some people think we should only use that to describe this kind of thing or we should only use this word in these circumstances.

And good can become one of those words and that’s why it’s a challenge for us as Christians.

It makes me think of the time that a potential follower came and found Jesus and said, good teacher, what must I do to be saved?

And Jesus’ response is, why do you call me good?

The only thing that is good is God.

And so that got me thinking, is this a word we shouldn’t use except to describe God?

Well, there are so many words that might fit in that category, as I mentioned earlier, even though I didn’t mention the words because maybe I’ll want to use them eventually in my microcast and don’t want to give it away.

But the reason I think Jesus responded that way is because the ultimate use of lots of different words to describe situations or people at its highest level, at its greatest accomplishment, the word good can only be used to describe God.

You think of the words that are often translated in Genesis where he saw this that he created and said it was good or he saw this next thing that was created and said it was good.

That’s a level of good that we just might not be able to comprehend.

So am I saying we can’t use the word good?

That’s not what I’m saying at all.

But what I want us to recognize with the word good and others as well, but this week especially with the word good, is the attribution.

Who are we calling good?

What are we calling good?

How do we define what is good and recognize that at its highest level that only describes the God who we love and serve?

Until next week, this is Joel from the I’m Talking Microcast.