Good is not God, but ...

When I was in college, a man of the cloth I respected (and still do) -- in fact, the man who married Valerie and me -- told me:

"Just remember David: Good is not God ..."

I lived with that counsel for decades, often being wary of Good -- good things, good conventions, good actions, perhaps good people, even the goodness of Creation -- armed with the the guideline that, remember: Good is not God. Don't mistake the two.

But now that I am well on my way to 60, here is my perspective;

... Good may not equal God, but God is awfully Good. If I separate Good from God, I might end up serving just a concept of God.

Again, the Hebrew word translated "good" means pleasant and agreeable to the senses; valuable in estimation, appropriate and becoming; prosperity and welfare; it means moral good.

In the very first chapter of the Bible, this word "good" is used seven times.

All seven of them have to do with how God himself saw things. Indeed God is bigger than Good, but that didn't stop him from seeing all that he made was good, very good.

And he made sure to let us know about it. Seven times.

Logos2Go

Psalm 118.1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Genesis 1.4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1.10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1.12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1.18 ... to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1.21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1.25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1.31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.