WHAT SHOULD WE BE DOING? (Part 2)
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.
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