For this very reason, add to your faith goodness... II Peter 1:5, NIV (1978)

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. II Peter 1:10-11, NIV (1978)

Goodness! Some of the other versions translate this word "virtue". The idea is that a servant of God will acquire and maintain good moral standards. It is one of the most pleasant characteristics of the faithful Christian.

To this point we have been focusing on the times when our lives are in such a state of despair that we need a life change in order to make our existence more bearable. However, there is another reason to have the desire to change one's life that doesn't stem so much from a point of desperation as it does a desire to simply be a better person. When we improve our character, we really can affect the tenor of our entire life. 

I suppose one of the main attributes of a person whose life is filled with goodness is that it makes everyone they come in contact with feel better. A person with a virtuous heart lives by a certain code, and it is not just any code that they may come to admire, it is the moral code that is set by God. When we have high moral standards as defined by God, we really will develop an influence that can be quite remarkable. I suppose people have always wanted to be more popular, but the ironic thing is that seeking popularity for popularity's sake always seems to backfire. While going along with the crowd's moral code might make you fit in better for a while, it is a lifestyle that is designed to make you more popular that has vanity and pride at its core.

And the fact is that people really don't like vain or proud people, so such a pursuit just to make yourself look better will always fail in the end.

But people who are guided by goodness are different. They really do just want to do the right thing because it is right, and there is no better feeling than knowing you are trying to be virtuous because this type of lifestyle is pleasing to God. And you can see why it is pleasing, because people who are guided by goodness are people who are looking out for the good of others. They really do want the best for others, and this type of an unselfish attitude is quite attractive. Once people realize that you are being nice to them without ulterior motives (wanting something from them) it makes them want to be around you. 

And this type of "popularity" is the very thing that will allow us to help bring people to Christ, because when people admire you, it is generally because you possess some trait that they desire. People are sick and tired of the phony religion that generally brings with it a disdain from others who recognize the hypocrisy. This is why religion has received such a bad name in recent years - it is because it has been changed to device to get riches or power or fame, rather than to do what it was intended by God to do. Here is what God says about the type of religion He desires: 

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27, ESV

It is here that we get to the heart of why many people want to change their lives: It is not always because they are miserable - it is sometimes because they simply want to help other people who are afflicted in some way. That desire to be good to others for goodness' sake (no reference to the song about Santa Claus) is a virtue that is entirely pleasing to God. It is a way of God using us to do His will. I always am baffled at the people who are mad at God for allowing children to starve or suffer in some other way. I have heard people who say things like, "If there really is a God, why does He allow children to go hungry?" I'm afraid these people might not like the reply they will receive once their time of judgment arrives. I think God will let us know that He did provide food for these starving children... and He entrusted it in our care so that we could do something about it!

But goodness comes with a completely different attitude than the one we just described, It is the attitude that is genuinely happy to help others - not to help people take advantage - but people who truly do need help who are in our circle of influence to where we can actually do something about it.

I believe this is the attitude most people wish they had more of. I believe this is the type of religion that could actually be used to attract others to Jesus. I believe this is the essence of why so many people feel the need for a change in their own lives - not because they are so miserable, but because they know they could do better.

And this is the type of change that is entirely within our control! All we have to do is start being good to one another. It might sound kind of corny but just imagine how nice the world would be if people really did live that way. Imagine how much your own life would change if you would do the same!