Are You a Do-Gooder?
Have you ever been called a “do-gooder”? I have. It doesn’t feel very nice. Although, when you think about it, it should. It should be a compliment. Doing ‘good’ is actually a positive thing. How can it not be? And as Christians, we are called by God to do ‘good’ in this world.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Hebrews 13:16 says “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
The question is, what sort of ‘good’ should we be doing? And to whom should we be doing ‘good’? The answer of the Bible to this question stands in stark contrast to what the world would tell us. Luke 6:27 records Jesus’ teachings on this: “…I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” And a few verses later he expands on this saying, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” What a challenge!
In Galatians 6:10, the Apostle Paul writes about a different group of people that we are to do ‘good’ to. “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” So we are to love and care for each other as believers within the church family. And then we are to love anyone else as we have opportunity. I am so encouraged to see this happening within our church already! May we continue to love and support each other.
Proverbs 3:27-28 tells us, ‘Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbour, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you” – when you already have it with you.’ We know from Jesus’ ministry and teaching that our neighbour is anyone who is in need (Luke 10:25-37). If we have the means to do good right now, we should do so. It’s easy to convince ourselves that we’ll do good when we’re in a better position or not so busy.
And finally, some words of encouragement from Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” It’s all too easy to become weary. It takes great conviction and strength to go against the tide, to be different from the world, to be a light, to do ‘good’. It’s impossible without the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. He is our Helper (John 14:26). It’s my prayer that you would call upon the Helper to energise, motivate, and strengthen you so that you never become weary of doing good.
Blessings,
Caroline
