I was made for Goodness

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, author of “Made for Goodness” was answering readers questions in the TIME magazine.

 Q: After all you’ve seen and endured, are you really as optimistic as your book, ‘Made for Goodness’, says you are?

 Tutu: I’m not optimistic, no. I’m quite different. I’m hopeful. I am a prisoner of hope. In the world, you have very bad people—Hitler, Idi Amin—and they look like they are going to win. All of them—all of them—have bitten the dust.

For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, Ephesians 5 v9

David referred to himself as a flea on two occasions, a dead dog and a worm.

Moses looked at himself and said he was not up to the task.

Gideon believed he was the weakest.

The list can go on. It seems every Bible hero had to get rid of the worthless things that were clinging to them, that had become the focus of their life and the shaper.

We need to stop thinking negatively, either about ourselves or circumstances. We need to think about our purpose in this world and about Him.

We have a Good Shepherd, Good News and we should be the Good Samaritan. Goodness is the trait of the kingdom of light.

If you have given out more than you have received back then you are venturing into the Goodness.

There needs to be loss in your life for Goodness to emerge.

The loss of loving someone who doesn’t return that love.

The loss of helping those who just take.

Loss because there is no hope of getting anything back from your kindness and generosity.

When you question whether it was worth it; when you ask whether you have been taken for a ride; when you see nothing from your acts of kindness it is then when you are bordering on the entrance of Goodness.

Goodness is a life where you look like God, especially in front of your enemies. They may be ungrateful and they may not recognise what you do but He sees. God can see you identify with Him for this is who He is and what He has done and does today.

So if today you meet that awkward, self-centred, seemingly unavoidable person then be kind. Lose. Be like God and then step into Goodness.