375. Live in the Good
Amos 5:14-15 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
This is a conditional promise: If you seek good, then you will live and the Lord will be with you. Promises of Life and Presence abound in Scripture, but this one is a conditional promise. Living well and enjoying the presence of God is a result of seeking good and not evil. Hate evil and love good, and then the Lord will be gracious.
This condition of seeking good and not evil may be taken in three ways. Any of these three ways will have the same “life” result. Most likely, all three of the following understandings apply to the promise.
- Seeking good and not evil, in the first place, can mean simply seeking God and nothing else outside of God. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God…” Place God first and only in your thinking, deciding and doing. Keeping the First Commandment is the basis of a good life: Fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Then all the other commandments will follow, all of which will make life real living and living well. Of course, we break this command on a regular basis, so we must repent and believe the gospel of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He keeps it for us. For Jesus, the will of the Father is first and only in His thought, desire and life.
- Seeking good and not evil, secondly, has to do with desiring and actually doing that which is good and not sinful. The more we desire to do good works, be kind and loving to all, and serve others the better life will be. We fail at this, but faith in Christ changes our desire and our seeking. Although, as hard as we may try we still fail. Thus repent and believe the gospel daily.
- Seeking good in life, in circumstances, and in other people is the third possible meaning of this command. First, look for the good in every circumstance and event, no matter how bad it may appear. This is more than optimism versus pessimism. It means there is always a silver lining. God is in everything and will not leave us without a blessing in all things. This attitude of looking for the good makes a cheerful heart. And that’s a good thing. Second, look for the good, not the evil, in other people. Condemn sin, but not the sinner. Your own attitude toward other sinners will change when you can find the good in them, that is, something that God is doing through others, whether they be believers or unbelievers. Be a “good-finder,” not a faultfinder. Life will be better. Again, we don’t naturally do this, but with God’s forgiveness and Spirit we can change.
Seek good, and live!