27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever. Psalm 37:27

This is the essence of the Christian “walk.” Of course the fruit of the Spirit must be incorporated into these actions, but where the rubber meets the road is “to turn from evil and do good.” On our own we would be powerless to do any of it. Fortunately, we have an Advocate, a Counselor, – the Holy Spirit – to help.

If we are to turn from evil, it’s absolutely essential we rely on the Holy Spirit, because let’s face it, on our own we don’t always lean in the right direction. The Holy Spirit will also help us – if we allow Him – to avoid unnecessary entanglements and to make godly choices.

The second part of this is to “do good.” What is good? If you asked a thousand churchgoers, they’d all come up with different answers, and most of them would probably be right!

Up to this point in the passage, we’ve seen a number of things that point to goodness: generosity, delighting in God, meekness, committing your way to the Lord. But you ask, how are these “doing good?”

• Are you freely giving of your time and resources in your actions? That’s a good thing.
• Are you delighting in God in your actions? That’s also a good thing.
• Can you without reservation commit these actions to the Lord and do it in His name? That’s a good thing.
• Is your motive to please God or to puff up your status among others? If it’s to please God, that’s a good thing.

This list is endless, perhaps as endless as the number of actions Christians can perform. But it does take effort on our part.