Morning Devotional

September  7, 2005
"Finding the Good"      
    by Don Emmitte

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If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you! Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring. Those who bring trouble on their families inherit only the wind. The fool will be a servant to the wise. The godly are like trees that bear life-giving fruit, and those who save lives are wise. If the righteous are rewarded here on earth, how much more true that the wicked and the sinner will get what they deserve! (Proverbs 11:27-31 NLT).

Why is it that we are often more fascinated by evil than by good? At least, according to this proverb, it appears that evil is easier to come by. Look for it and it will find you. It will be everywhere. Evil does appear to be a hot topic. It shows up in our movies and films. It dominates our intrigue in apocalyptic material. It permeates our science fiction. News about calamity is much more sensational than news about some good service that has been performed by someone.

Haven’t you noticed how much easier it has been to see the images of the evil in the reporting of the destruction in New Orleans this week? There is no doubt that it is a great tragedy that so many people lost their lives and loved ones. There will never be a way to adequately describe the devastation suffered under Katrina. However, I find it just as hard to imagine that there isn’t some good news to report too. I think it is just easier to find and report the bad news!

In contrast finding good takes a little work. It’s harder to create and harder to portray. It’s as if our default setting is for evil but good has to be searched out. Yet the fact that it can be found and enjoyed makes the search worthwhile.

I’ve always seen this concept, as a part of what daily worship is—worship that is not dependent on a religious context. The proverb says that if I look for good I will be rewarded, but it’s not going to come get me. Evil will come get me, but good won’t. Good, I have to wake up and find. It’s all about being alert to it. It’s about looking for God and truth in the daily activities of our lives.

This may sound like a task, and I suppose it is, but it is not cumbersome. It’s a challenge and one with a great deal of joy attached, for the rewards are great. One big reward is discovering that I don’t have to wait for church to worship. I learn that I can worship anywhere to the extent that I have trained myself to seek out that which is good. Finding good is the same thing as finding God, because God is glorified in all that is good. What good are you going to find today?