Good.

The word is so variable.

Everywhere we look we find individual people defining for themselves what good is. Since the dawn of time, humankind has roamed the earth doing what was right in their own eyes (Proverbs 21:2). But for some reason the good we cook up within ourselves seems to always fall short. We do what feels good to us, but in the end it’s not always what we expected, leaving us feeling empty, frankly, like we’re missing something crucial to make it all work (Proverbs 14:12).

When God is leading our lives, we walk a different path than we’re used to. It’s different, but a good different. Literally. And it changes the way you look at life.

Have you been there before? Like no matter what you do, there’s still something missing?

You’re not alone. I can imagine that just about everyone comes to this point in their life, probably on more than one occasion.

I’ve been there, too. But for me it involved changing my version of good to be in line with the only other One in the universe who could possibly know what’s good for humankind: the One who created us.

The Creator of humankind would certainly know most intricately what’s best for His creation.

Right?

But we are bombarded from all sides—from friends, family, the educational system, our own government—with people telling us what is right, what is good and what we need to believe in in order to be “good” people. But I find a fundamental flaw in most people’s plea for me to believe in their version of good: it lacks vision from God.

Left up to humankind, we get an empty goodness that on the surface level appeals to us. It allows us to do what we want, to do what feels good in the moment. But once you break through that surface, it’s just a hole left below, leaving us wondering "What now?"

In order to truly know goodness, to be good, you have to first know God and leave your own human heart and instincts at the door. You have to let that physical, battered and bruised human heart be transformed into a new spiritual one.

We can only do this by seeking the goodness that comes from God.

Think about where your instincts have gotten you and the people around you so far. Could your life be improved by simply changing your perspective on what’s good?

Consider what God tells us in His Word, the holy Bible.

In Ephesians 5:9, we are told that “the fruit of the spirit [which comes from God] is in all goodness, righteousness and truth.” So that which is right, good and true comes from God, not us.

It’s a simple formula. God knows what’s right. He shares this truth in His Word, the Bible, and all of that is good. That’s how we define the word, not on a whim, not based on feelings.

Though often misunderstood, goodness isn’t necessarily about making people feel good. Feelings are in the moment. They’re moments when we seek whatever soothes us quickly, but it’s like we mentioned previously—the surface. To get down to goodness, you have to dig deeper.

Your actions can’t revolve around simply making people feel good for a moment. You can tell a white lie to get a friend out of something, and they might really appreciate what you did for them. But that’s not goodness, because in doing this, we operate outside what is most fundamental to that which is good—God. God’s truth says lying is a sin and therefore doesn’t fall into the category of goodness.

Scripture tells us there is only One who is good, God the Father (Mark 10:18). His way of goodness—the guidelines He lives by and asks us to live by, too—is what we need to aspire to.

He doesn’t ask us to live a certain way because He wants to simply exercise His authority over us, however rightful that authority is. He doesn’t tell us, “This is the way, walk you in it" (Isaiah 30:21) because He thinks it’s burdensome, and we need to pay for some terrible list of evil deeds we’ve accumulated throughout our lives.

He gives us His Word, the guidebook to life, because He wants to lead us toward happiness that can only be obtained from this true goodness that comes from Him, through His Holy Spirit.

When God is leading our lives, we walk a different path than we’re used to. It’s different, but a good different. Literally. And it changes the way you look at life.

Suddenly, that emptiness that threatened to boil over if you didn’t fill it with meaningless thing after meaningless thing is suddenly made full.

And all the confusion over good and what to believe in the world around us no longer overwhelms us, because we can find peace and joy when we operate within God’s perfect plan for humankind.