Doing Good
Doing Good
It was said about the Lord Christ that He went about doing good (Acts 10:38). In this, He set before us a way for the spiritual life: that the goal of each one of us in his earthly life should be doing good.
“He preaches the gospel of the kingdom, and heals every disease and every weakness among the people” (Matt. 4:23). He had compassion on everyone, and continually gave to everyone in need.
“The Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isa. 61:1).
Thus, it was also said about the Father that He is “the Maker of good things”.
He continually does good, with everyone. He makes His sun rise on the righteous and the wicked, and sends rain on the good and the evil, and satisfies every living thing with His favor.
He grants people everything they need, both spiritual and material.
He created and cares for His creation: He watches over it with His care and love, and does good to it.
And all these are lessons for us. We learn from God to do good.
But first, it is important that we know what good is, so that we may do it.
Thus, we combine doing good with wisdom and discernment, because many people think that they are doing good, while they harm themselves and others! Therefore, doing good requires understanding, and sometimes counsel.
Doing good should be good in itself, in its means, and in its goal, and, as much as possible, in its results as well.
A person must not resort to a wrong means in doing good, thereby mixing good with evil!
Likewise, its goal should continually be a good spiritual goal.
Good should be offered to everyone—to the stranger as to the relative, and to the enemy as to the friend. For it is the nature of a good person to do good, and the nature of the people with whom he deals should not affect him in this.
Doing good does not seek a reward.
He does not do good for the sake of payment or compensation, nor even for praise.
He does good because he loves good.
The love of good is the sound motive for doing good, and without it, good cannot be called good.
The love of good springs from a pure heart. It is strengthened by a good example and made more sensitive by awareness of the needs of others, and by seeing their joy as a result of the good he does for them.
He who does good always strives to grow in it.
And he continues to grow until he reaches relative perfection, according to his abilities.
Therefore, doing good never stops at a certain limit. A person who does good does not feel a desire to be satisfied with what he has done.
He who does good forgets himself and remembers others, so he works for the sake of others.
He rejoices and takes pleasure in goodness. He may rejoice in giving even more than the person to whom he gives.
He forgets the good that he does, because he is thinking about another good that he will do.
And he continually remembers that God is the One who works through him in everything that he does.
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