"She is so nice."

Are you ready to evaluate another scenario? Consider if Bernice is really exhibiting the Holy Spirit's fruit of goodness, or is she exploiting situations for her own benefit? If you need a refresher course, click here to review our previous post on Counterfeit Goodness. Remember, goodness is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that enables us to exemplify God’s moral nature.

"Bernice is soooo nice! Every time something has to be done at the church, she is always there to help.

"We needed help stuffing shoe boxes—she was there.

"We asked for someone to help in the kitchen—she was there.

"They needed an extra nursery worker—she helped.

"She led a VBS team.

"She scrubbed the toilet bowls.

"She leads a ladies’ Bible study.

"She teaches a small group.

"She hosts parties.

"She painted the baseboards in the hallways.

"She turns the lights on for services.

"She turns off the lights at the end of service.

"She collected money for the orphanage.

"She sings in the choir.

"She does it all!! She is sooo good!

"I was talking to her the other day, and she was telling me that she just never felt good enough! She said no one ever thanks her for all that she does! She believes she keeps having to do more and more so that people will think well of her, but it doesn’t ever seem to be enough!!"

Yes, we believe God wants us to serve everyone. But is that really true? Did Jesus serve everyone? Although the pool at Bethesda was surrounded with sick people, John 5 only records Jesus healing one of them. God has a specific task for you to do, and only when you stay in tune with the Holy Spirit's work in your life can you know what He has for you to do. Otherwise you exhaust yourself living by your own effort. God gives you everything you need to accomplish the work that He has for you to do. But if it is not a job He has for you to do, you will be left feeling inadequate.

Did this make you think of an example where someone used exploitation instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to exhibit goodness in his or her life? We’d love to hear your story. Write to us at contact@desperatedependency.com.

Click here for a more complete elaboration on the topic of counterfeit goodness or visit WinePress Bookstore for a copy of Desperate Dependency: Finding Christ Relevant to Every Area of Life by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis.