2nd June 2006

Finding Good
By John Fischer

If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you! - Proverbs 11:27

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.

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.

A car hit a pedestrian last night three blocks from my house. It was serious because it required a helicopter to airlift the person out. From the tape cordoning off the accident scene and the amount of time it took police to conduct their investigation; it was clear that this accident was potentially fatal. As I watched the helicopter lift off our neighborhood street I prayed for good to come out of this—for the person hit to know eternal life, for that person’s loved ones to find comfort in God, for the workers to know respect for life and the Giver of life, and for the crowd of people who formed on the sidewalk to consider seriously their purpose in life while there is still time. And then I thanked God for my safety and especially the safety of my children who run on these same streets. Even in this tragic scene, good was to be found.