3 REASONS TO DO GOOD REGARDLESS OF THE GROWING EVIL IN THE WORLD
Intro:
Recently, I was demoralised by an experience that led me to some deep thoughts about where the world is headed. Everywhere I looked, I was confronted by a disregard of standards of decency and uprightness. It seemed to me that those of us on the side of good were hopelessly outnumbered and losing out in the unending tussle between good and evil.
As parents, teachers, and in whatever other walks of life we find ourselves as Christians, I know that many of us have had to grapple with this issue at one point or another. We may have been put in a position where we asked ourselves, “Why build a legacy of respect, kindness and honesty when those who succeed us may toe a totally different path?”
As I meditated on this and prayed to encourage my heart, I decided to do this blog post to bless others who may have had the same kind of struggle.
[bctt tweet=”Here are 3 reasons to do good regardless of the evil multiplying in the world.” username=”edithohaja1″]
3 Reasons To Do Good Regardless …
1. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-15). This is who we are. God commands us to do good and He has equipped us with the guidance of His word and the power of His Spirit (the Holy Ghost) to do so.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16
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(Related: 3 Things That Can Cover A Believer’s Light)
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When we do otherwise, we lose our peace. But when we live in righteousness as we are commanded, our impact goes further than we can imagine. And we get a testimony like that of our Master, Jesus, of whom the Bible said that God anointed Him “with the Holy Ghost and with power” and He “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil” (Acts 10:38).
Some people are tethering on the edge between good and evil. Our good conduct may just be what they need to show them there’s a better way to live than to blend with the prevailing darkness. And like salt, our lives preserve the world from utter ruin.
2. Besides, there is a reward in this life for doing good: That is why the Bible admonishes us to not be weary in doing good because we will reap if we faint not. – Galatians 6:9
There are still those who appreciate the good we do and celebrate us to inspire others. In the midst of my downcast state, a former student of mine wrote a tribute to me, which he shared on his Facebook page. It attracted some other ex-students of the department where I teach at the University of Nigeria and they said a lot of nice things about the way I do my job. This is both a reward and an encouragement sent by God when I needed it.
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[The Tribute From My Student]
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We need to realise that God takes note of every good thing we do and rewards us in His own way and at His own time.
So cheer up, brother, sister in the Lord, for it is not all in vain.
“10. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
12. That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” – Hebrews 6:10 & 12
[bctt tweet=”The good you do may seem unnoticed, but God is recording and will reward you for it.” username=”edithohaja1″]
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(Related: Constantly Go Above And Beyond: Note to Self And Public Servants Everywhere)
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3. We are not really of this world, we ambassadors of Christ, our King, who is coming to take us to be with Him forever. This is what the Lord Jesus said of us:
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” – John 17:16
“1. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” – John 14:1-3
And Apostle Paul states as follows:
“14. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
20. … our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” – Phillipians 3:14 & 20 (NIV).
It is our faith in the Lord Jesus, which we live out everyday in doing good, that will gain us admission into that final rest with Him.
“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” – 2 Corinthians 7:1
“12. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
14. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” – Revelation 22:12-14
Nothing that this world has to offer can compare with that place of bliss our Lord has promised us. When we keep it before us, our hearts will be strengthened to keep doing good.
“1. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4. When Christ who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” – Colossians 3:1-4
As for our legacy on earth, we should leave that in God’s hands to preserve and bless people with, if He so wishes, all to the glory of His name.
[bctt tweet=”Our God is still supreme and evil will ultimately be destroyed.” username=”edithohaja1″]
Conclusion:
We should never let our zeal for doing good be dampened no matter what. Of a truth, some of the things we witness today are shocking and sometimes they come from the most unexpected quarters, including from Christians, but the word of God warned us that it shall be so. Remember Apostle Paul’s admonition about perilous times (2 Timothy 3) and falling away or apostasy (2 Timothy 4:3-4, 2 Thessalonians 2:3).
We should always remember that no matter what happens, God is still in control and all power still belongs to Him (Matthew 6:13, 28:18). In the end, all evil will be destroyed in the lake of fire (Revelation 20, 21:8).
In the meantime, no matter how thick the darkness in the world, it can never overcome the light of God (Christ Jesus) shining through us.
Come hell or high water, that light shines in darkness and darkness cannot overwhelm it (John 1:5). Halleluyah!
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The scriptures used in this post are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible except where otherwise stated.
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Hi! Hope you benefitted from this post. Are there other reasons you remember for which Christians should keep doing good?
If yes, kindly share them in the comments and be richly blessed of the Lord.
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Doing good is something we should engage in without considering the earthly reward. For example in school, the only time people start being nice to you is when they are coming out for one post or the other. After that, they stop doing good. As Christians especially, we should always do good because our Father in heaven has commanded us to do so, not for people to reward us but because it is good to do good. Most times people don’t show appreciation for the things we do for them but it shouldn’t stop us to be good because we know we are doing the right thing.
You’ve made an important point. The fact that God commanded us to do good is enough reason to do so, plus the fact that it is good to be good. We should just see the receipt of rewards as a bonus, not the main determinant of whether we do good or not. God bless you richly in Jesus’ name.
We should do good regardless of what “they will think or say”. God blesses those who do good. Even if you are not seeing your rewards here on Earth, bear in mind that your reward is also in heaven and it is everlasting.
That is very comforting. We should never forget that it’s not all about this life. Heaven awaits us and our reward there is greater than whatever the earth can afford.
“There is a reward in this life for doing good.” This post is so apt.
At a point, I questioned myself why I should continue being good to people who won’t reciprocate same. Especially those who want your downfall due to sheer jealousy.
Ma, how should we treat such people? Should we also be good to them?
Yes. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus taught us to be good to those who hate us and treat us badly because that is what God, our heavenly Father does when He lets His sun and rain to fall on the evil and the good. Remain blessed in Jesus’ name.
One thing i have learned is we should never let our vibe for doing good be overshadowed because of the bad things of the world…we should keep doing good because our father in heaven would reward us one way or the other.?
Yes, He will because He is a faithful God.
The truth remains that no matter how evil is being celebrated, good deeds still outshine it. Even though we live in a world where corruption is made attractive and is celebrated, we should not be discouraged because we are representives of God on earth and every man will be rewarded according to his deeds. In essence, we should keep on doing good, if not now in future you will be remembered for that and lives would have been impacted.
I wholeheartedly agree. There is a time for sowing and a time for reaping and our harvest will not pass us by. Amen in Jesus’ name.
Amen! You are so right Ma. I agree most with the second point. God always rewards good works. Working in the church, it seemed as though I was wasting my time… It didn’t take long, my mum who had been moving from church to church with different issues or the other found a family in Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel). Her spiritual growth took off for good. Her businesses were prospering unlike before. My elder brother who was not really concerned about God began to pick interest in things of God. As if that wasn’t enough, the favor I received in my academics was beyond understanding. People thought I was just lucky. But, no, it wasn’t luck. It was God being who He is – faithful and rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Wow, such a wonderful testimony. It really pays to serve God!
Amazing and uplifting Edith..I love the fact that God is watching all we do and there is a reward on earth too!
Glad to have you here, my beloved sister, Rita! And yes, God doesn’t always make us wait empty-handed till we get our pie in the sky. He does give us a slice of that pie sometimes right here right now! Have a most blessed August, my dear! ❤️
Sometimes doing good is extremely hard. I have experienced it a couple of times; after doing something nice or sacrifing something you really want just to be nice, only for the person to call you wicked, selfish and pretentious. It is heartbreaking and you want to give up. But thanks to you, ma, I am not giving up. There is more good to be done and that good I will do. May God continue to strengthen you.
Amen. May God strengthen you too to do good no matter what in Jesus’ name,
And yes let our light shine before men, amen.
I strongly believe that deciding to live an exemplary life and one worthy of emulation is important irrespective of the decisions of whoever may come in our wake. There is no down side to living a good life. You might not inspire those you intend to.. But somewhere your drop of goodness has caused its corresponding rippling effect. The law of homogeneous attraction will always bring good people together and through them great things can be done. I believe it doesn’t matter if the bad out numbers the good. Doing your bit is more important. Let us never let the darkness take us and shine your light no matter where you are for you might bring hope to a drowning soul. Thankyou for this enlightening post ma. God bless.
It’s seems difficult nowadays to do good due to the level of ingratitude expressed by people. Nevertheless, we should not retreat from doing good especially when we can. Bearing in mind that God will reward us… whatsoever you do to the least of my brother, thou you do unto me.
I believe we should be good toward others because God might have mercy on us on the judgement day considering our good deeds.
It is also important to make sure that our good works outweigh our shortcomings. We are humans and no matter how good we might be, there is always an ounce of sin which blemish our goodness in the eyes of God. I feel that’s why Psalm 51:7 which says:
“Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow”, is there to help us in ensuring that the sins which we might have committed considering our human nature will not forestall us from getting into heaven.
May God continue to help us as we try our best in doing good.
Wow! Thank you for sharing this Ma! We should never get weary in doing good. A scripture to add: Titus 2:7-9
Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Slaves are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,
First off ma’am I’m very sure a lot of people have said so many positive things about you. It all stemmed from the tribute someone wrote about you on facebook.
So many people have said So many things about me, but there was something unforgettable you told me that really affected my life positively. You spotted my writing skills through the comments I made on your blog and you said to me “Ononso you are a good writer keep it up”. Coming from you, it meant the world. A whole Aunty Edith telling obele Ononso that he is a good writer. It will stay with me for life. I’ll dedicate all my future works to you by the grace of God. Thank you for believing in me and I won’t let you down. You have done a great good in my life. God bless you.
Wow! Thank you for paying close attention to what I said. I look forward to reading your writings and I’m certain you won’t disappoint. God’s grace!
As I read this post a song kept playing in my head. A song we all probably sang while growing up. It goes like this ” If you do good, kingdom Oh oh oh o (2x)…kingdom waiting for you. If you do bad no more kingdom oh oh oh o.. No more kingdom waiting for you.”
It’s as simple as that, doing evil offends God. As Christians we are called into holiness and righteousness. As the day goes by there are so many reasons to be persistent in this race. May God help us.
In life, as Christians and believers doing good should be a part of our daily life regardless the situation or the kind of thing we are passing through. There are little things that matter even the tinniest matter. So let’s inculcate the habit of doing good both to people that love us and those that don’t for our Heavenly Father knows best. Thank you ma for this post??
This is really an inspiring message. Even Jesus who healed the sick and performed many miracles was still crucified by the people he came to save and that did not still make him falter or withdraw his gift of salvation. Likewise we are to follow the footsteps of Jesus and when it seems like no one appreciates our good we should always remember that our reward is in heaven. So let us never falter from the good we do because we never know who is watching us and is being motivated by our actions and the way we live our lives.
Thank you so much Ma.
It is important that we as christians strive to do good in such a wicked world as ours because it is we are the salt of the earth.
When you do good to people, don’t expect anything else from them, or even what people will say about it. Have in mind that God will reward you.
I will keep doing good even when the world doesn’t see it or appreciate it, I know My Father in heaven does. Thank you Ma.
Children of God really are the light of the world and there are other candles(unbelievers) waiting to be lit, but if we as Christians put out our light, who then will light those candles?