Are You One of the Good Guys?
Recently I was listening to a friend of mine as he was talking about growing up and imagining things while playing outside. He talked about all of the imaginary bad guys he used to defeat in his backyard. It occurred to me that this was just his style. You see, in real life he grew up to be one of the good guys. He became a Christian and he learned to care about souls and he wants to make a difference in the kingdom. It made my heart glad to see that a young boy who wanted to defeat the bad guys grew up to do that very thing in real life.
What about you? Have you grown up to be one of the good guys?
You are one of the good guys if you aspire to help others. What gives you joy? It’s what makes people cry happy tears that tells us so much about them. Do you rejoice when others are delivered from their struggle? Do you celebrate when good things happen for others? Does it make you happy when justice comes? If so, then you might be one of the good guys.
You are one of the good guys if you follow through with good intentions. The Bible says of Jesus that he “…went about doing good, and healing all those who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38). It’s not enough to just aspire to help others, we actually have to go about doing it. It is a lifestyle. Thinking about doing good is not enough. Someone once said that, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
You are one of the good guys if you rarely think about yourself. The number one problem in the world may not as well be defined as sin, as it would be selfishness. Selfishness is the fuel behind every thought or deed ever done that will automatically end with a bad result. Our Savior defined love as keeping God’s commandments (John 14:15). That’s not selfish, but selfless. He said the greatest commandments were to love God supremely and to secondly love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-29). Only the humble selfless person can love the way God loves.
You are one of the good guys if you are willing to fight for what is right in the world. I’m thinking again of my friend. He wanted to beat the bad guys. This meant it was more than an idea for him but something for which he was willing to sacrifice. My ten-year-old daughter explained to me yesterday that the baseball bat under her bed was for whacking potential robbers in the back of the head. I think she’s one of the good guys. She not afraid of defending the territory of the innocent and free.
With all of the evil in this world, I think it’s a good idea to be thinking about being one of the good guys. Because the good guys always win in the end. And although in reality only God is good all the time, it’s going to be the good guys who will eventually graduate to that heavenly country.
“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” – James 4:17
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AUTHOR: Jeremiah Tatum
