Nice Or Good

Romans 12: 1 – 21

Be the good guy not the nice guy

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

There is a difference between being a nice guy and being a good guy.

It’s easy to forget this, especially as the cliché that “nice guys finish last” is reaching a fever pitch in today’s world. People do not even know what gender they are.

So, today I want to let you know that there is a big difference between being “nice” and being “good.” Many of the men we admire most were known for being brilliant, opinionated, eccentric, kind, supportive, and loving.” Compare these characteristics and see how you measure up.

This is because while being “nice” merely involves knowing how to be polite (which people have a right to automatically expect from you), being “good” requires you to display in your words and action a genuine interest and connection with others. Similarly, while “nice” men are accommodating, and pleasant, “good” men are interesting and offer something that people can’t find anywhere else.

Our Lord Jesus stated an important fact as recorded by the apostle Matthew in chapter 19 verse 17 of his book, “So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

So, there is only One Who can qualify as good.

Yet, our Holy Creator God does not lower the bar for us to follow His Great and Holy ways as our King Jesus Christ informed us in chapter 5 of Matthew’s book, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Now we are in a bind when we realize that this is something we cannot accomplish. Not to worry. Our Wonderful Holy Master has this covered for us as He says in chapter 10, “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

We can do all things with our Holy God Jesus Christ. Thank You Lord.

We start off this chapter as Paul now calls on all Christians therefore (‘by the mercies of God’) to totally consecrate themselves to God’s service. It is an urgent call to action in response to what God has done for them. He is calling on them to live out the ‘newness of life’ (6.3) that they have received, something which will result in: