Good and Beautiful and Kind Quotes

“When spiritual vitality is measured by sin-avoidance, we deceive ourselves into thinking that we are following Jesus faithfully. But following Jesus is to be measured by love—love for God expressed in love for neighbor. This is the good, beautiful, and kind life. It took me some years to realize this. In fact, I need to be reminded of it often.”
― Rich Villodas, Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World

“Salvation The helmet of salvation should include liberation for others. We resist the powers not just by leading people to individually renounce them but by announcing salvation that extends to the larger social, economic, and political spheres of life that imprison people. Let me emphasize this point with a poignant observation from South African professor and bishop Peter Storey, who perceptively wrote, American preachers have a task more difficult, perhaps, than those faced by us under South Africa’s apartheid, or Christians under Communism. We had obvious evils to engage; you have to unwrap your culture from years of red, white and blue myth…. You have to help good people see how they have let their institutions do their sinning for them.[13] In the announcement of the gospel, we are called to apply its power beyond privatized experiences of faith. While holding on to the individual fruits of salvation, the larger social and cosmic realities must be proclaimed and worked for as well. Christ’s death does not just apply to “me.” It must apply to “us.”
― Rich Villodas, Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World

“The shield of faith is the next piece of armor Paul detailed. The powers are best resisted when we trust in the One who fights for us. We overcome the powers not through trust in our abilities but through confidence in God’s power. This is why prayer is such a powerful response to the powers. When we pray—alone or in community—we avail ourselves of God’s empowerment to live in the way of Jesus. By faith, we open space for the Spirit to form our lives. By faith, we set our eyes on the One who will set all things right. By faith, we anticipate a world filled with the glory of God. But faith is not something self-oriented. We are saved by faith, yes, but it’s an outward-oriented faith. As the late theologian Marva Dawn noted, “The shield of faith signifies not only trust or confidence in God’s power as a critical part of the armor, but also putting on the shield is to participate in Messianic faithfulness.”[12] Our faith is in the faithfulness of Jesus.”
― Rich Villodas, Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World

“Perhaps we have not broken God’s law today, in a strictly defined legal sense. But have we failed to love?”
― Rich Villodas, Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World

“By the end of the journey, may we have moved closer to you, our neighbor, and ourselves. In Jesus’s name, amen.”
― Rich Villodas, Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World

“If the greatest commandment given by Jesus is rooted in love, the greatest sin—and perhaps all sin—must in some way be the rejection of this command. This is what makes sin so pernicious. It orients us inward. It curves us in on ourselves, and in so doing, it uproots love, goodness, beauty, and kindness.”
― Rich Villodas, Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World

“The work of cultivating calm presence begins as we wrestle with our own faulty thinking before we come face-to-face with someone in conflict. As a matter of fact, our ability to name the messages that heap shame on us is what positions us to remain close to others.”
― Rich Villodas, Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World

“Sin is at work when those who have experienced undeniable racism are not met with empathy and care but rather are demonized for naming the problem. Sin is what’s at work when we shrug our shoulders in the face of grave injustice. Sin is present when we refuse to treat another with dignity. Sin exists when we injure another with our gossip. Sin is manifested—as we confess in prayer every week in our congregation—in what we have done and in what we have left undone.”
― Rich Villodas, Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World