KEEP ON DOING GOOD
SCRIPTURE READING
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.'
1. WHAT SHOULD WE BE DOING?
- Galatians 6:9 'doing good'.
- We are called to be a blessing.
- We are called to do good.
- When we do good it inspires and motivates others to embrace what is lovely, beautiful and praiseworthy.
- When we do the right thing and the good thing, it inspires others to do the same.
- Most translations use these words 'DOING GOOD' but in some of the older translations they use the phrase 'WELL-DOING'.
- What is 'doing good'?
A. By implication 'doing good' means not 'doing evil'.
- When we are engaged in sin we are 'doing evil', as an example.
- When we are selfish, thoughtless or inconsiderate we are doing evil.
B. Good intentions do not constitute 'doing good'.
- There is an old proverb that says: 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions'.
- The meaning of this phrase is that individuals may have the intention to undertake good actions but nevertheless can fail to actually take action.
- Often our lives are filled with good intentions, but do we actually convert this good intention into something practical?
- Often our good intentions can disappear like mist before the rising sun.
- What is it that stops us from transforming our intentions into actions?
- Is it because our selfishness or self-centeredness tends to dominate in the final outcome?
- Or is it simply a matter of procrastination that ends up leaving the good that we could have done, undone?
- The truth is that good intentions get us nowhere, but 'doing good' actually makes the change and brings change that we could not have foreseen.
- The challenge is how do we move from good intentions to actually stepping up and doing the good we are called to do.
- I find the best way to do this is that when I feel a prompting to 'do good' is to do it as soon as possible.
- Don't wait or hesitate.
- When we wait and hesitate we seem to end up doing nothing.
C. Saying that we plan to do good does not amount to 'doing good'.
- Sometimes we are quick to speak and slow to do.
- I have found myself saying to my wife: 'We need to help that person!' and then nothing more gets done.
- They say that 'talk is cheap'.
- It is easier to say you will do something than to actually do it.
- Perhaps you have been promising your wife or your children something for years and you have never done it.
- I once knew a couple. They had been married for many years and they never owned a washing machine or dish washer. The wife would always ask her husband to buy these appliances, but he kept saying he would do it but he never did. Eventually after 40 odd years of marriage, the wife died. Then he discovered how much was involved in doing his own clothes and dishes and within a few days of her death he purchased the appliances. How sad that is. In my book, his inability to do the good he said he would do amounted to doing evil.
- Let's stop saying we will do something and let us do it!
- Rather, put your money where your mouth is.
- Do something rather than just talking about something.
D. Having a feeling about something does not amount to 'doing good'.
- We can have feelings about something and do nothing about it.
- We may feel compassion towards someone but that is not 'doing good'.
- That compassion must move from a feeling to an action.
- The Bible tells us that Jesus was 'moved with compassion'.
- Mark 1:41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing," He said. "Be healed!"
- The Lord can use our emotions to move us, but we have to respond and do something.
- Matthew 20:34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.
- Matthew 18:27 Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.
- We must move from feeling to doing.
- The example that is set for us is that when we find ourselves in the grip of a powerful emotion it should lead to some form of decisive action.
E. 'Doing good' involves a decisive action that brings about a change.
- We are called to be light and salt.
- Light that does not shine is of no effect.
- Salt that does not bring flavour is of no value.
- Light and salt have to do their job so that the effect can be felt.
- If we are going to be effective in this aspect we need to take some action.
- For too long we have relied on good intentions, speaking and feelings without stepping into action.
- The delay, the procrastination, the laziness and selfishness needs to stop and real action must now become the new normal.
- A star only has a value when it shines.
- We should actively be reflecting the light of God into the lives and circumstances of those around us.
- We should have the same attitude as Moses had when he said: 'If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the LORD gives us.' Numbers 10:32
- Let us do whatever we can.
- Let us share whatever good things the Lord has given us with others.
2. WHAT SHOULD WE BE WATCHING OUT FOR?
- Galatians 5:9 'become weary...'
- We need to be on the alert that we do not become weary.
- Sometimes we can do good and we do not see the fruit or the reward of our actions.
- This can lead to us getting tired of doing good.
- It is natural and to be expected, but the Apostles counsels us not to get weary.
- In our choice to do good there is a danger that we could get tired of it.
- What does this phrase 'become weary' actually mean?
- Some of the commentaries use an old English word to explain this. It is the word 'flag'. It is a strange word and it means to become unsteady, feeble, or spiritless or to decline in interest. It is the picture of a flag on a flagpole that is waving in the wind. When the wind stops the flag stops waving and 'flags' or hangs loosely. It no longer does what it was designed to do because the wind has gone.
- Perhaps the wind has gone out of your ability to 'do good'.
3. WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES US WEARY OF 'DOING GOOD'?
1 . Perhaps we wonder if we should be doing it.
- We can doubt the legitimacy of what we are doing.
- We may ask ourselves should I be doing this and why am I doing this?
- We may not have the same conviction that we started out with.
- When we get to this point it is difficult not to get weary.
2. 'Doing good' can be hard work.
- Doing good costs.
- There might be a physical cost.
- It may cost you your time, your effort, your energy and your sweat and tears.
- Good things require effort.
- We all know that a goal worth achieving is worth working hard at.
- 'A great essential to achieve anything worthwhile is hard work.' Thomas A. Edison
- Doing good can be hard work and that alone can give us reason to be weary.
3. 'Doing good' can have its own challenges.
- Some years ago a father and his son arrived at our church office asking for food. They told us that they had had no food for several days and that they and the rest of their family had nothing to eat. So we served them some coffee and while they enjoyed the coffee I went out to the shops and put together a food parcel to help address their needs for a few weeks. It was packed into two boxes. I met with them and gave them the food. I was amazed at their response. They both stood up and the father said the following: 'Do you expect us to carry that?' I then realized that they did not want food but they had hoped for money. This response was a challenge to me and brought a hardness of heart into my life so that I didn't really want to help people because I doubted their motives.
- You can 'do good' and get a response that you never anticipated.
- People may not appreciate your endeavors. You may even be criticized.
- When Jesus did good and helped people, the leaders of the day were angry with Him.
- That is enough to make you weary and tired.
4. 'Doing good' usually calls for sacrifice.
- I remember my own father. He did not earn a great salary but he provided for us. He would sacrifice so that we could get new clothes. He would wear his suits for many years and did not demand new clothes for himself but made every effort to ensure we had the clothes we needed. That is sacrifice.
- Putting others first usually means putting yourself further down the line.
- Sacrifice is not our default attitude.
- Often the very aspect of 'doing good' is tied to the aspect of sacrifice.
- Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 'Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things,'
- Over time this can become a drain and a tiresome aspect.
5. 'Doing good' often runs against our nature.
- We live in a selfish world.
- We live in a world of self-gratification.
- We want to meet our own needs and our own desires.
- The world is always telling us that we deserve it.
- So to embrace an outward focus runs contrary to the world's systems.
- It is like swimming upstream or going against the flow.
- That can be a tiresome endeavor.
6. 'Doing good' with no results can make us weary.
- If you are doing good and all your effort seems to bring no immediate results we can often get discouraged.
- Imagine exercising and seeing no results - how long would you continue?
- The results of doing good can sometimes take a long time before we see them.
- It's hard to continue when results seem to not be forthcoming.
- It may even seem that the good we are trying to do is useless.
- It is for these reasons that we can become weary of doing good.
- But we are encouraged not to become weary in doing good.
7. 'Doing good' when no one else is doing anything wearies us.
- We live in a world that is selfish and self-focused.
- The world has got weary of 'doing good'.
- I recently watched a documentary on the humanitarian aid that is offered around the world. It was said that the demand around the world for humanitarian help has gone beyond what people and organizations can do to address it. The need has outstripped the supply. But the issue is that this does not mean we should do less or nothing.
- The need may be too great and many may feel that what they can do is only a drop in the ocean and so perhaps they step back and do less.
- We can also feel like this, be we should respond in a different way.
- We should choose to do what the Word of God tells us to do and we should not get weary of 'doing good'.
- Don't allow the magnitude of the needs you see weary you to the point of doing nothing.
4. WHY SHOULD WE NOT GET WEARY IN DOING GOOD?
1. Because we were designed and created by God to do this.
- He gave us the ability and tools to be able to make a difference in the world.
- We would not be told to do it if we did not have the capacity for it.
- It is part of God's very own nature and character that has been deposited in us.
2. Because it is part of living a life that honours God.
- We are called to live lives that honour and bring glory to Him.
- When we are 'doing good' we are displaying this honour.
- We are in effect being His hands and His feet to touch His creation.
- 1 Peter 2:9 'You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.'
3. Because it is in our best interests.
- Psalm 37:3 'Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.'
- So there is a connection between 'doing good' and living in safety.
- Our well-being and our prosperity depend on it.
- I wonder if you have ever seen it in this light?
4. Because it will bring a sense of fulfillment into our lives.
- The Bible tells that it is better to give than to receive.
- Acts 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'
- 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 'You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.'
- It is a very fulfilling place to be where you always have everything that you need and plenty left over to share.
- Doing good leads to a more meaningful life and that in turn leads to greater happiness and fulfillment.
- As we 'do good' our lives will have meaning and purpose.
- Philosophers have long known that living a life of meaning and purpose is the key component in the happiness quest.
5. Because when we 'do good' we are following the example of many of the greatest people that ever lived and in particular the example of Christ Himself.
- 'How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.' William Shakespeare.
- 'Every sunrise is an invitation for us to arise and brighten someone's day.' R Goodrich.
- Many of the heroes of the faith were known for the good they did.
- Jesus set us the ultimate example of 'doing good'.
- We can follow that example and ask ourselves: 'What would Jesus do?'
5. WHAT SHOULD OUR MOTIVATION BE?
1. There is a reward and we should never forget this.
- The reward the Bible speaks of is a harvest. There are laws that govern harvest.
- 1. We reap only what we have sown.
- 2. We reap the same things as what we have sown.
- 3. We reap in a different season to the season in which we have sown.
- 4. A harvest usually speaks about getting back MUCH MORE than we planted.
- 5. There is a direct correlation between how much we sow and what we reap.
- 6. We only reap if we persevere.
- 7. We can't do anything about the opportunities we have missed but we can take advantage of the opportunities we have now.
- Galatians 6:9-10 'Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.'
2. There is a proper time for this reward.
- The Bible speaks of 'in due season'.
- The term 'in due season' basically means 'in due course'.
- I believe that this is right at the moment that we need it.
- So at the moment that we need it, if we have sown, it will be there.
- We usually sow in one season and reap in another season.
3. It's all dependent on whether we keep on doing good or if we choose to give up!
- Galatians 5:9 ' ... if we do not give up!'
- So 'do good' and be a blessing.
- Your reward is certain.
- Never give up!