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Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil;<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Sometimes doing \u201cthe right thing\u201d can cause harm to others.<\/p>\n \u201cGood<\/span>\u201d is translated from agathos<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cbenevolent, profitable, or useful.\u201d There is another Greek word translated \u201cgood<\/span>.\u201d It is kalos<\/span><\/em>, which refers to the intrinsic character or quality of goodness. Agathos<\/span><\/em>, however, is often used to express the quality of actions or deeds.<\/p>\n The words \u201cspoken of as evil<\/span>\u201d are translated from the verb blasph\u0113me\u014d<\/span><\/em>. The noun form, blasph\u0113mia<\/em>, is the source of our English word \u201cblasphemy.\u201d The verb is made up of a form of blapt\u014d<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cto hinder\u201d or \u201cto injure\u201d and ph\u0113m\u0113<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201ca saying\u201d or \u201ca rumor.\u201d Hence, blasph\u0113me\u014d <\/span><\/em>means \u201cto say something injurious about someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n By \u201cyour good<\/span>\u201d in this verse Paul is referring to the things that your conscience and the Spirit of God allow you to do. Paul has already told us that nothing is unclean in and of itself. As long as it is not something specifically forbidden in the New Testament (like getting drunk or eating that which you know has been offered to idols) and you have a clear conscience toward God about doing it, then it is okay. But if that \u201cright thing,\u201d which your conscience and the Spirit of God allow you to do, causes your brother or sister to stumble in their own Christian walk, then you need to reconsider whether it is really \u201cthe right thing\u201d after all.<\/p>\n The principle here is that the welfare of your brothers and sisters is more important than your own satisfaction. In fact, that\u2019s exactly what Paul told the church at Philippi:<\/p>\n Let<\/em> <\/span>nothing <\/span>be done<\/em><\/span> through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.<\/span> (Philippians 2:3-4<\/strong><\/span>)<\/p>\n The example that Paul used in this case was Jesus Christ. Even though He is divine, that is, part of the godhead (He is God), He lowered himself and took on the form of a man and offered up His perfect life and His righteousness so that we might be saved and be given the righteousness that He alone deserves. And Paul said a very similar thing to the Corinthians:<\/p>\n All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s<\/span> well-being<\/span>.<\/em> (1Corinthians 10:23-24<\/strong><\/span>) <\/em><\/p>\n If we are constantly striving to strengthen and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ and we are seeking to please God our Father, then we will not be very focused on what we want for ourselves. When we are focused only on ourselves, however, even the good things that we see as permissible can end up causing trouble for others.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s all consider how our actions can affect the spiritual lives of other Christians. Are we so determined to do \u201cthe right things,\u201d that we don\u2019t care if they cause other Christians to stumble? Wouldn\u2019t it be better to abstain from a permissible practice than to cause harm to a brother or sister in Christ?<\/p>\n In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\nTruth to Learn<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Behind the Words<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Meaning Explained<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Application<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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