My Goodness!

Read Galatians 6:1-18

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time
we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore,
whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to
everyone — especially to those in the family of faith.”
(Galatians 6:9-10)

Thoughts… Sometimes you don’t always feeling like doing good. I think that’s what Paul means when he uses the word “tired”. There are times when you feel tired of doing right. There are times, honestly, when you feel like doing bad—like grousing at your family, running a red light when it’s late at night and there’s no one around, eating a chocolate covered peanut out of the bulk food bin without paying for it, drinking directly out of the juice container rather than using a glass…or worse!

That’s just a part of what it means to live as a fallen human being in a broken, messed up world. Doing good all the time isn’t the easiest thing to do. Giving into your fleshly feelings is.

But being a Christ-follower means being ruled by a law, not by a feeling. It means being ruled by a higher law. Paul describes that law here in Galatians when he speaks of the law of love (5:14), the law of Christ (6:2), the law of servanthood (5:13), and in our verse today, the law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7-9).

To be an authentic follower of Jesus, to live as Jesus would, to think as Jesus thought, and to do as Jesus did, means to treat these higher laws just as you would the laws that rule our universe. For instance, I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that you’re not going to go up to the roof of your house today and defy the law of gravity. You might feel like flying, you might feel like weightlessness would be a cool thing, but you are not going to challenge the higher law that outweighs your wants of weightlessness. There is a name for people who do that—dead!

So it is with doing good. You don’t always feel like doing good things, but there is a higher law that you must serve rather than your feelings. In this case, it is the law of sowing and reaping. When you don’t feel like doing good, you remember that you will reap blessings at some point down the road if you do the right things now. So you just will yourself to do good.

Now by and large, there is an interesting thing that happens when you grab your “wanter” by your “willer” and do what these higher law are calling you to do: Your feelings begin to line up behind your actions. If you act like Christ, you begin to feel good about it. And when you string enough good acts together with a string of corresponding good feelings, you begin to have a pretty good day. Plus, you make God pretty happy with you as well…and that’s always a good thing.

So be a do-gooder today…even if you don’t feel like it.

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish,
Ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and
some true friends; succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building,
Someone could destroy overnight; build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be ejalous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world your best anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
—Mother Teresa

Prayer… Father, today I will find some good things to do, because that is simply what the law of Christ is all about. I will love someone who isn’t too lovable. I will serve someone when I feel kind of selfish. I will do good for someone with no thought of repayment. By my actions, help me to fulfill your law today.

One More Thing… “Grab your ‘wanter’ by your ‘willer’ and make yourself do what you know you ought to do, and God will help you do it.” —Paul Faulkner