Scriptures: Galatians 5:22-23, Micah 6:8, Romans 3:12, 7:19, Mark 10:18, Psalm 34:8, Leviticus 24:22, Proverbs 31:9, Zachariah 7:10, Deuteronomy 10:17-18, Matthew 12:35

What does it really mean to be good? What is goodness? Micah 6:8 tells us it is "to act justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with our God." Goodness then is right living out of the right motive, God-given and God-centered. Today goodness is most manifested in the life of the believer through social justice. When we care for those around us who need help--the poor, the needy, the fatherless, the foreigner, the widow--we're a picture of Christ and His goodness toward all of us. In this message, Dr. Merritt both uncover the biblical definition of goodness, and gives practical examples of how to practice goodness and do good with our lives each day.

"In virtually all of the ancient cultures of the world the power of the gods was identified not with the outcast or the widows and orphans, or the aliens, but with the elites, the people in political power, the generals, the kings and the wealthy. The God of Israel identified with the orphan, and the widow, and the alien, and the poor. Unlike every other little god that pagans worshipped this big God of Israel was a God on the side of the powerless and the poor." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: Fruit of the Spirit, tasty, Galatians 5:22-23, goodness, living, right, loving, George Washington, Mt. Vernon, 1783 Circular, example, charity, humility, temper, imitation, happy, demean, earnest, widow, orphan, poor, poverty, food, clothing, least of these, Saint Francis of Assisi, justice