1 Timothy 4:4
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.
One of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith is that everything — absolutely everything — is good. All creation is good because it is God’s creation and He makes nothing evil. Many people are startled to hear this because they have the notion that Christianity is primarily about the business of standing around, radiating a general disapproval of sex, pleasure, or money. But, in fact, Christianity has a cheery and even hearty appreciation for all these things. Indeed, Christianity never denies the goodness of these things, nor of any other created thing. On the contrary, it says, “These things are so good, so wonderful, so filled with goodness that they can blind us to the fact that there is something even better: God Himself, the author of goodness.” Christianity never counsels us against loving creatures as good. Indeed, it dogmatically insists that all creatures (even Satan himself) are rooted in the goodness of God since (at the very least) they participate in the good of existence, however perverted that good has become. But the faith also reminds us that we pervert that goodness precisely by loving creatures more than Creator. It was to save us from that destructive choice that Jesus came. Today, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then love your neighbor as yourself and say a hearty “thank you” to God for His beautiful and good creation. Do it in that order and you will obey God every time.
