Good Things—Taught & Learned
Fall 2022
“Good” is such an interesting word! We often say, “That’s good” or “I’m good!” But how can we really define good or know what is not good? Certainly in today’s culture, the evident paradigm shift away from biblical truth has greatly confused the definition of good. Christians must clearly understand what is good because God pronounces woe upon those who call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). For older women to be teachers of good things (Titus 2:3), and young women to be good (Titus 2:5), Christian women must know how to define “good.” Looking to the One who is only good, whose “goodness endureth continually” (Psalm 52:1) is the answer!
I love what Thomas Manton wrote to help us understand the goodness of God: “He is originally good, good of Himself, which nothing else is…he is essentially good; not only good, but goodness itself… He is infinitely good; the creature’s good is but a drop, but in God there is an infinite ocean…of good. He is eternally and immutably good, for He cannot be less good than He is.”
What does the goodness of God mean for us? It is “the goodness of God which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent and full of good will toward men. He is tenderhearted and of quick sympathy…He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of His people,” said A. W. Tozer. God’s infinite, eternal, and unchangeable goodness far exceeds the extensive expanse of a beautiful, twinkling night sky! We agree with the psalmist, “Thou art good and doest good” (Psalm 119:68). All that comes from God: His decrees, creation, laws, and providences cannot be other than good! Because God is good and does good, Christian women can sing, “The Lord has promised good to me; His Word my hope secures; He will my Shield and Portion be, As long as life endures.” God’s promised good, then, is the key that enables older women to be teachers of good things and young women to be good for the glory of God.
How amazingly good is God’s plan for older and younger women in providing a continuous flow of older women to lead and young women to be taught, thereby preserving godly womanhood for generations. Teaching includes both living a godly example and establishing comfortable friendships that make gentle, whispered encouragements as well as earnestly spoken exhortations easier to share. The good things to teach are the beautiful, excellent, precious, suitable, commendable, genuine, honorable, noble and agreeable things. With God and His goodness as the starting point, teaching about loving your husband, for example, becomes much more than sharing tips or lists of “this do and all will be well.” Rather, the command to love your husband is the outworking of a wife’s knowing and resting in God’s intimate goodness to her.
For young women, Titus 2:5 lists “to be good” as an honorable quality for her to embrace. Synonyms of “good” include pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy, honorable, and inclined to goodness. What a privilege for Christian young women to develop a pleasant, joyful attitude of life, which blesses those around her! This good attitude rests in contentment with God’s goodness to her: “The King of love my Shepherd is, Whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am His And He is mine forever.” Though vast the clearest night sky, yet infinite and enduring continually is God’s goodness, for Christian women to teach and learn for good in the world for God’s glory!
Mrs. Barbara Mooney