Goodness: A Life of Virtue (Fruit of the Spirit)

by: Kristen NeighbargerPublished on: 16/08/2023

As someone who grew up in a performance-based theology, attending chapel three times a week was simply another item to check off my checklist. It was one more thing that contributed to my status as a “good Christian,” a “good student,” and a “good girl.” Except that it wasn’t. At all. Like anything that is forced, chapel became just another slot in my day, an annoying slot in my day where I found ways to sneak my textbooks into my seat so I could attempt to get caught up on my ridiculous amount of assigned reading for my literature classes. Sitting in that seat did not reflect my “goodness” at all. It reflected my ability to follow rules and to keep track of my chapel skips for the semester. It is so easy to fall into that “goodness” mindset, though, isn’t it? We hear scriptures like Galatians 5:22-23 where Paul explains the fruit of the spirit, and we immediately associate the idea of “goodness” with our skewed definitions of what it is to be a “good girl,” a “good Christian,” or a “good person.”