Goody Two-Shoes, or Born Again?

Goody goody. Remember that snack? Hmmm . . . what a pleasant memory! If you grew up at the same time I did, there was this totally yummy chocolate called ‘goody goody.’ Those were the days! Even a mental image of the goody goody wrapper brings a smile to my face. 

But enough of my childhood memories! 

On to today’s matter. Are you a goody two-shoes, or a born-again Christian . . . 

So, goody two-shoes describes a person who always wants to do what’s right. I used to be a goody two-shoes. Always striving to be well behaved; to make the right choices and say the right thing. My motivation for being a goody two-shoes was to get people to like me. I figured that if I was obedient, courteous, docile, and agreeable then people would think I am a nice person. I guess you could say I was looking for acceptance from people.  

Then, there were other times that I just wanted to do what is right, because I was brought up that way. For instance, when I started my own business, there was an economic standstill due to political issues in the country. A friend introduced me to a board member at an organisation with offices country wide. This board member offered to make sure I won a tender that was yet to be advertised. All I had to do was inflate my quotation to include a handsome cut for him. To my friend’s surprise, I declined the opportunity. A small part of me wondered what I was doing, given the (harsh) economic situation at the time; but I knew I had made the right choice. My confidence in my choice was based on lessons from my dad as I was growing up. My decision had nothing to do with representing Jesus at work. At the time, I believed it was sufficient to do the right thing. I was simply a goody two-shoes.

More than that, I thought God was pleased with me for being well-behaved and making ethical choices at work. I even thought I was better off than some of the born-again people I knew, who did things I disapproved of! What I didn’t realise is I was still a sinner in God’s eyes, despite being a goody two-shoes. How come? Well, because all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). As you can imagine, I was rather surprised when I learnt this! What with all the effort I made to have people like me and accept me, I was nowhere close to being accepted by God!

Now, this realisation created some turmoil in me because I did not want to be ‘one of those saved people.’ Bit by bit, however, I became conscious that the only solution in God’s eyes was to be born again. I began to grasp that because of Jesus, God treats us much better than we deserve, by freely accepting us and setting us free from our sins (Romans 3:24).

How about you? Does doing the right thing rank highly for you? Do you like to be courteous and speak to others nicely? Do you believe in treating others fairly? Perhaps, like many Kenyans, you’ve perfected the art of throwing in an ‘amen’ here and a ‘praise God’ there? Well, . . . these are all good-to-do, but they don’t get you into God’s good book (also known as the Book of Life).

So, don’t just be a goody two-shoes. Be born again! Ama?

PS: If you are not sure that you are born again or you want to be born again, let’s chat some more on ‘precioushonouredloved@gmail.com’