Why do we do good?
Serendipity: the marvelous surprise of discovering something pleasant and unplanned. Our bike trip to Taos last summer met that standard. Rich and I picked out a date in our busy summers that worked, made reservations ahead, only to discover on our arrival that Fiestas de Taos was in full swing. Fiestas bring a festive tone, fun, and a lot of crowds. Surprisingly, we got a fine rate at the classic Sagebrush Inn, with a nice room. Even better, their restaurant featured music every evening.
On Friday we rode 25 miles to Penasco, and on our return enjoyed a big and late lunch at Ranchos Plaza Grill and toured a next door art gallery, so that night we just ordered some appetizers and drinks. Yes, the bill was pretty small for a crowded room with people getting full meals, so we tipped Carlos generously. Things changed Saturday night, the main night of Fiestas with a popular band playing. The lead singer owned that excellent art gallery.
This time, we walked in to a full house without empty tables, and Carlos met us. He smiled, told us to wait there, then came back and took us to front row seats at a table we shared with 4 others, who welcomed us. Why? I suspect he remembered the good tip, and got us a good table. Yes, we repeated that tip. My first take: we bless others and get blessed, but that tone is selfish and manipulative. A transaction of mutual benefit.
That doesn’t represent God’s character. We don’t do good to get good, we do good because it’s good to do. Goodness as a fruit of the Spirit flows from God’s character. The more room we give to the Spirit, the more changes he brings to us. And yes, blessing others will bring blessings to us, according to Paul, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6).
Yes, when we bless others, we get blessings in return. But our motive has supreme power: if we do good mostly to get back, we contradict the giving and loving heart of God who wants to bless people. We reverse his goals and results. Do we do good for God’s sake, or to get the return?
And a deeper level comes to our lives, “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:8). When we unselfishly do good just because it’s good, with no thought of personal return, then we please the Spirit and express the fruit of goodness. The result of consistently doing that? We reap eternal blessings and life. We align ourselves with the nature of God.
Kick Starting the Application
Do you often do good hoping and expecting it to come back? After reading this, do you feel a bit guilty? How can you change your thought processes to do good for goodness’ sake?