Zechariah 8:16
“These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:”
Every person tries to learn how to get on the good side of someone to whom they are close. A child knows what they have to do to get on their parent’s good side. A spouse knows what it takes to get on the good side of their spouse. Employees, friends and church members all know what they must do to get on the good side of their boss, friend or pastor.
However, getting on God’s good side should be of the utmost importance to every Christian. God is the source of all blessings, and if a person is on His good side then they will no doubt be blessed. The good thing is that God wants you on His good side, and He shows in the verse above how to get there.
First, tell the truth. God says, “Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor…” God loves truth for He is the Truth. When a Christian tells lies it will immediately get them on God’s bad side. You must always be a person who tells the truth. Telling the truth is not always easy to do, but when you tell the truth you will find yourself on God’s good side.
Second, obey God’s Word. It says in the verse above, “…execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:” This is simply obeying what you are supposed to, not just in public, but in private. Notice that it says, “in your gates.” That was not out in the public eye, but that was inside the gates of someone’s house. God is interested in your obedience when you are in public, but He’s more interested in you doing right when you are all alone. In other words, God’s not interested in a show. He wants righteousness to be a part of who you are. That will get you on God’s good side.
Third, don’t allow your heart to think about hurting someone. God says in verse 17, “And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour…” What is interesting about this is that God is not concerned with how your neighbor treats you, but with how you treat your neighbor. This is not just talking about people who live next door to you, though this certainly applies to that, but God defines a neighbor as anyone with whom you come in contact. (Luke 10:29-37) You must be careful that you don’t become a person who tries to hurt others, even if they have tried to hurt you. The greatest Christian is not the one who does good to those who do good to them, but the greatest Christian is the one who does good to the one who does evil to them. When you do good to your neighbor at all times, that will put you on God’s good side.
Fourth, don’t love untruths. God says in verse 17, “love no false oath.” In other words, not listening to gossip will put you on God’s good side. When it bothers you that someone is saying something untrue about another, that will get you on God’s good side. Better yet, when you challenge the untruth to help the one who is being lied about, that will put you on God’s good side.
Christian, getting on God’s good side is simply being a true Christian. When you start living the life Christ wants you to live, you will find yourself on His good side. You don’t have to beg God to be on His good side, you simply obey Him and you will be on His good side.