The Emptiness of "Being Good"

By David Hobbs

All over this land there are thousands upon thousands of young people who have been raised in Christian homes, gone to church, followed the Ten Commandments, abstained from the drinking, drugs, and partying of their friends, and yet still feel empty inside. They are wondering where the reward is for being good. “What’s missing from my life? Isn’t being a Christian enough to ensure a happy life? Am I still such a bad person inside that Christianity can’t help me? Should I abandon the faith I grew up in and join my peers who seem to be having such a good time partying?”


If you’ve ever had thoughts like these, it might surprise you to know that some of the best people in the Bible did too, like the psalmist who wrote Psalm 101. Look at all the good things he was doing (NLT).

3 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar.
I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them.
4 I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil.
5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors.
I will not endure conceit and pride.

In verse 2 he summed it all up by saying,

2 I will be careful to live a blameless life.
When will you come to help me?
I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.

Notgice how right in the middle of his summation he cries out to God, “When will you come to help me?” He was feeling that emptiness that comes from just being good.

This may surprise many Christians, but God’s presence is not drawn by your being good. And this was what the psalmist was experiencing—the lack of God’s presence in his life. “When will you come to help me?” He might just as easily have said, “When will you come and fill this emptiness in my soul?”

If being good isn't the answer, then what is it? What will draw God’s fulfilling presence into your life and mine? Once again the psalmist shows the way by saying “When will you come to help me?” What was he doing? He was crying out to God! God says in Jeremiah [NKJ]: “13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” God responds to those seeking Him, those asking about, crying out to, and searching for—Him.

God does want us to be good--and being good has its own rewards--but He responds to seekers. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” [Mt 7:7]. And it’s in God’s presence, when He comes in response to our seeking, that there is the fullness of joy we so long for to fill our lives (Psalm 16:11).

Don’t join the partying crowd looking for what’s missing in your life; don’t go into the New Age or join a witches’ coven looking for the spiritual pizazz you crave. It’s all there and more in Jesus. But it won’t come in response to passively “being good;” you have to seek Him to get it.

Please get my book, Walking in the Spirit, and see how I found everything I was looking for and all I was missing, by seeking Him. http://www.walkinginthespiritbook.com/.