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What does it mean to do good?
Doing good – according to my definition – is to use our time, bodies and resources to do something that adds value to the glory of Christ, the kingdom of God, and most particularly the lives of fellow humans. Which means as I am typing this document, I am “doing good” if this will bring glory to God, contribute to the kingdom of God and add value to other people. Nonetheless, I believe Paul’s aim in our Galatians 6 verse is towards that kind of doing good that seeks to improve the physical wellbeing of other people. It means as a believer, my dear Christian friend, you are expected to not only seek what’s beneficial to yourself, but also look for the interest of others, and to intentionally make efforts that might add value or help fellow humans, while gaining nothing in return. This is very important in the Christian faith. Yet I worry that as believers we have lost that passion and desire to “do good”; it’s like we have been taught that being a Christian is all about “me and Jesus”, nothing further. Apostle James goes so far as to say that your faith is in vain if it does not care about the basic needs of other people. Just as Pastor Erwin Lutzer also said, “The world can outshine us in many things but let them not outlove us.” Having said all that, allow me to come down and admit that (from experience) it’s not so easy to “do good” always, as we are commanded. We get many such opportunities, but, as our verse suggests, we often are wearied. What is it that really prevents and wearies us from doing good? Reasons below…
Our sins – Sin is the biggest enemy even to the best of the Lord’s Sheep. And often times we do not want to do good because the sin of selfishness has crept into our own hearts – unawares. Then we start to imagine that anything “good” that does not bear something in return is not really worth it. More of these sins may include anger, greed, pride and favoritism which all play a huge part in snuffing out even the last bits of our good Christian hearts. Hence it is vital that we keep ourselves in line with the will of God through a regular hearing (and study) of the Word, fellowship and self-examination.
Mistreatment – Throughout my Christian life, I have really been trying to sincerely do good to my fellow humankind, without any favoritism. However, I have often been wearied by some souls – Lord forgive them – who have taken my kindness for foolishness and sought to abuse and misuse me for their evil interests. Those kinds of ungrateful individuals are nothing short of a killer punch to my good heart. Regardless, upon reading that good Book, I am often rebuked by the instruction that we must also learn to do good to those who hate us as well. How we can do that is beyond my finite mind, although I know that the Lord can give us the grace to do that which we can’t do in the flesh.
Life’s hardships – Unfortunately, not all of us Believers live in mansion homes and drive nice cars. Unlike the lies of the Prosperity Gospel, God’s people also face hardships of a severe kind. Some of us have already faced the greatest troubles on earth that cannot be written in words. As I speak, there is some believer who is battling cancer in some hospital bed, with no hope of any kind. Or we can consider the Northern Nigerian believers who have witnessed their loved ones gunned down by Islamic terrorists. My point is; life’s challenges affect us; they affect our faith, especially in relation to other people. It is hard for me to “do good” to you if I am stressed by the fact that I have not been working for the past two years – I barely have anything to eat this week. Therefore, my Christian brethren, it’s understandable that many times we don’t have the strength to “do good”, however, the fact that it is encouraged in Scripture means we have to look past our own calamities and still make efforts to alleviate the troubles of others. That is the high standard of this Christian Faith.
My friends, I wrote this letter as an encouragement. That is, there is no good that we do that is ever in vain. People are indeed helped, communities are improved, the kingdom of God advances and most of all, our Lord is gloried through our tireless good efforts.
So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith – Galatians 6:10
Sinothi Ncube
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