The essence of being nice has
always interested me and I often find myself cringing a little bit every time
somebody say, “he’s a nice guy.” Don’t get me wrong; I say the same thing too.
However, I would like to believe that such remark is a shallow way of
describing someone. I feel like many of our relationships are not deep and
intimate enough to allow for chances of authentic goodness to be displayed, for
forgiveness to be practiced, for conflicts to be resolved, for graciousness to
be extended and for sacrifices to be made. Sometimes, we get stuck in the small
talks and never go into deep fellowship with each other. We say hi and hello to
strangers but we refuse to forgive family members. This is just one example.
However, I refuse to keep siting specific situations of someone being nice versus
someone being good because it is not my job. Being nice and being good are
matters of the heart and only God can truly cross-examine it. (Jeremiah 17:10)
Don’t get me wrong. Of course, it
is nice when people are nice – when a guy offers a seat to an old lady, when a
lady opens a door for an old man or when a teenager offers to babysit for a
tired mother. These gestures all give a warm, fuzzy feeling to the soul and
they make life more bearable. However, I believe they are not enough to say
that a person is truly good. I also think that there are many “nice” people in
the world these days but their hearts are really not in the right place. The
opposite can also be true. Some people might not seem nice especially by first
impression, but he truly could be acting out of the goodness of his heart. And
this is where the deception comes in. I think the time has come when many are
now calling evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for
darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter (Isaiah 5:20).
Since it’s Christmas time, let me
just share the relevance of Christ in my life regarding this issue. I am not a
good person and I will never be – at least, not on my own effort. However, I
placed my trust in Jesus a few years ago and that means allowing God’s goodness
to fully cover me so that when He looks at me, He only sees the righteousness
of Jesus which is sufficient to declare me good - good enough to spend eternity
with Him. Again, I am not good; but the God I believe is. As a result, this
truth motivates me to do good and there are many times that I don’t. I could
also be a nice person but not all the time. Just ask my husband. But that’s
okay. Good is better than nice. Merry Christmas everyone! <3
