Eager

Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?

 - From I Peter 3

The rhetorical question seems to imply that, if we "do what is good," we will not be harmed. But then the entire passage goes on and implies that, yes, we very well may be harmed if we do what is good. We might even be harmed because we're doing good.

In order for good people to be harmed, the people with the power to do harm to you, are going to have to redefine "good," so that whatever you are doing, is bad.

But then the passage also references the value in doing good - - - if our attitude is right, if we are humble, if our hearts are pure, then we will persuade a lot of people and change a lot of minds.

Christians must be in touch with their surroundings, be ready to respond, place the good, the serving of others, above all else.

Servanthood is not considered "good" in our times. I've found that people are not at all interested in serving others, in putting others first. They have turned these godly virtues into worldy and legal vices. Even consistent and reliable Christians are setting aside real servanthood, in order to take sides in the increasingly dangerous political partisanship gone amok.

But the opening statement is not talking about actually doing good . . . it's talking about being "eager" to do good. And we're all "eager" to be good. Everybody wants to do good, and everybody pretends that they are, in fact, doing good. In this particular season in 2020, it seems, epidemiologists get their turn at being relevant, historic, ground-breaking. They are making stories to tell their grandchildren. They are in the middle of the fight. They're doing good. They are good. And we thank God for their expertise at this time.

We all hope we get to experience this type of life-changing, historically-relevant moment in our careers. It gives our lives meaning. And we want to matter. As Sally Field once exclaimed: "You like me! You really like me!"  We all want to be liked. We all want to be good. And we all think we're good, if it will help.

But just being eager will not cut it. And it's true . . . you probably will not be harmed if you're only eager to do what is good. Because that way, you might even be admired for speaking your mind, while having enough "wisdom" not to act on it . . . because that might be "selfish," or even "hateful."

The doing of good is risky. It is even dangerous. But we've got to go beyond just being eager to do good . . . from just talking about it; to actually doing it. For whatever reason, the world really seems to hate when actual good is actually done.

Disagree?

Next time someone complains about poverty, sickness, homelessness, or the Coronavirus and wants someone (probably government) to do something about it . . . invite them over for coffee, specifically to discuss what you and he or she can do, together, to solve the problem