True Goodness: What Pleases God Before All Witnesses

Ecclesiastes 1:26 declares that God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who find favour in His sight. But what constitutes genuine goodness before Elohim?

A man may esteem himself righteous, yet remain spiritually hollow. Society may celebrate him as virtuous while his heart harbours corruption. Even the Church may accept him as good, yet he deceive both himself and others. Dr. Bushnell observed how respect for celebrated names erodes upon closer examination—a principle applying equally to character. The diamond fields of South Africa yielded yellow stones chemically treated to appear white, deceiving even experts; similarly, character admits falsification. A man may appear brighter and costlier than he intrinsically is.

But he who is good before God—before the all-seeing Adonai—requires no earthly validation. True goodness stems from God's inspiration, maintained in heart and life by His Holy Spirit. Its essence lies in godliness itself: motivated by love of God, obedient to His will, aspiring toward His glory.

The goodness that originates in God, lives through Him, and acts for His name's sake—that is goodness in scriptural depth. When wisdom and knowledge accompany such virtue, they bring not sorrow but joy: the pleasant sense of enjoyment belonging to those who please the Almighty. This is the testimony worth possessing.