“Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
— Hebrews 5:14
Think about something you’ve learned to do well or are working on. Maybe it’s dribbling a soccer ball. A dance move. A new piece on the piano. Long division. How did you get it right? Did you read a book about it? Have somebody tell you how to do it? Watch someone else do it? Those things might have helped. But didn’t you master that skill by practicing?
It’s impossible to get really good at step-ball-change without putting on your tap shoes. Nobody ever played in a recital without hours at the keyboard first. It’s the same with learning to do good. You can read the Bible, listen to sermons, and hang out with good-doing people all you want, but you won’t even begin to bring out the goodness in yourself unless you practice.
It’s tough. There are no “goodness scales” to pound out, no worksheets to sweat over. You just have to “be good” again and again. Make the right choice even if it isn’t the popular choice. Create safe, healthy, fun situations to replace hazardous-to-your-health ones that put people down.
You’ll make mistakes. Just start over and try again. It’s the only way to train yourself. God’s right there, coaching you.
More to Explore: 1 Corinthians 9:24 – 27
Girl Talk: What is one little thing you could do right now to practice “doing good”? Get out there and do it!
God Talk: “Lord, thank you for being my ‘goodness’ coach. Show me all the little ways I can practice doing good today and in the future. Amen.”
From That Is So Me by Nancy Rue