Doing Good 2 APR 2013

Doing Good. How do people commonly view “doing good”?? A “do-gooder” is an idealistic, perhaps Pollyannaish person w/ good intentions, sporting a banana eating grin, who is impractical & going to be run over by people who are on the road to success. At least that’s what Americans typically think.

The Satanic philosophy that life has only victims & victimizers leaves no room for successful selflessness. With this attitude, the “street smart” hustler thinks that a do-gooder is in denial about how heartless the world is. This attitude also gets support from many Christians who blast do-gooders as deluded rejecters of cheap grace, workers trying to earn brownie pts. w/ God, when all our works are but filthy rags. They gravely poo-poo good works as blasphemous. Some have judgmentally told me that doing good works makes a person a 2nd rate Christian whose salvation is now in jeopardy… they opine God might overlook that works’ attitude & despite it grudgingly save the do-gooder. They make it sound like you risk your salvation doing a good deed.

Both the Decl. of Independence & God’s Word admonish & encourage us to do good. “…in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works” TIT 2:7. In all things? That isn’t what they taught us in college psychology for counselors, where it was emphasized “You are not a nursemaid, so don’t try to nurse anyone.” You are taught to string the person along till they discover their own solutions, for truth is relative, & the answers they choose are best for them. The shrink does not have nor want to have answers. You pay them to convince you to fix yourself. Imagine going to an auto mechanic:
Mechanic, “What would you like to see?
You, “A functioning car.”
Mechanic, “What would that look like?”
You, “A car that runs.”
Mechanic, “What would tell you that you have achieved that?”
“When you fix it, & I can drive my car away you idiot!”

It is no surprise that in an age where the Decl. of Independence & God’s Word are held in low esteem that doing good is out of fashion. The Word even warns “in the last days perilous times will come…[when people are] brutal, DESPISERS OF GOOD…” 2 TIM 3:1-5

Ou role model Christ was the ultimate do-gooder. And his inner circle, Peter, James & John make it crystal clear that we are to continue Christ’s example of doing good:
John says, “He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.” 3 JN 11
James says, “Therefore to him who knows to do good & does not do it, to him it is sin.”
Peter simply quotes PS 34:12-16, “Let him turn away from evil & do good;…”

Certainly our good doesn’t compare to God’s good (cf. LK 18:19). A first grader doing multiplication is doing good at math, even though ultimately he is not a “good” mathematician. Still his efforts are “good” which means “having positive qualities…favorable”. Also, many of us fumble & make mistakes in our do-gooder efforts. God is aware of all this, yet He continues to repeatedly command us to BE good & to DO GOOD. His good is big league, ours is little league, but He still wants us in the game of life. We are His work in progress “created in Christ Jesus for good works…” EPH 2:8-10. He redeemed us to create a group of do-gooders “zealous of good works”. TIT 2:14 He raised Christ hoping next that we’d be “complete in every good work to do His will.” We are not to sleep in our salvation. No wonder the Apostle Paul repeatedly reminds believers, “But do not forget to do good…” HEB 13:6