Goodwill

Helping others builds character

I trust that you can see

That giving assistance to someone

Builds character in you and me

No one that thinks only of self

Gets any further than himself

He is like a precious book unread

That remains upon the shelf

His friends he never trusts

Since he rarely knows them at all

And they are of little value to him

If they are not at his beck and call

Obsessed with self is blindness

Of all the beauty that’s around

It’s like a face though well formed

Misshapen by a frown

At odds with all the world

Because one doesn’t have it all

Is like digging the deepest hole

And then taking a headlong fall

But on the other hand

As we all reach out to others

In such is character building

Of a totally different matter

 

There is a sense of wellbeing

Whenever we show we care

Not a smug selfish satisfaction

But joy at being able to share

It is like the goodwill operation

Of the sort we see at a certain time

How we wish it were all year through

This goodwill of the Christmas kind

It gives the world a different shape

And it hums a different tune

And even in the time of recession

There is still a giving boom

  

It was the first Christmas message

Delivered at the Saviour’s birth

Glory to God in the Highest

And peace and good will on earth

It goes hand in hand with peace

Goodwill is what I mean

And when and wherever it’s exercised

There is always a peaceful scene

Its beginnings are in humility

Have a look at the nativity scene

Never ever does it commence

In the palaces of kings and queens

It reaches to the humblest person

And the high must be brought low

It breaks the trend of the darkness

When the goodwill light starts to show

A tear is replaced by a smile

Unless of course it’s a tear of joy

Even a misshapen self-bent face

Is changed when goodwill is deployed

You would recall the famous Scrooge

A miserable, despicable humbug

Note the change that came over him

At the point of goodwill and love

Zacchaeus was another character

Obsessed with only himself

But a dose of goodwill from Jesus

And he started distributing his wealth

Goodwill’s source is the Saviour

That gives in abundance to the world

Its acquisition and utility

Are to be found in the Holy Word

Make everyday like Christmas

With the goodwill deposited in you

Help to change the world around

From its topsy-turvy view

Stewart Russell © December 2017