Galatians 6: 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Let us not become weary in doing good. YUCK right? Really, don’t we all think that just a little when we hear that. That is one of those things that is much easier to say than it is to do. Don’t get me wrong here we all do good most of the time. Some more than others, but most of the time we all do good. But to not grow weary…..what does the even mean….right? Why would we ever grow weary? Oh yeah, because doing good take a lot of effort some days…..because doing good sometimes means that we pass ourselves over for the promotion, and give it to the guy that deserves it, doing good means we step up and take the blame, even though someone else has already been queued up to take the fall. Sometimes doing good means that things will not work out as well for us, and quite honestly, it is pretty easy to grow weary of taking the hit you deserve, or missing an opportunity that you don’t.
No, it is not always like that. Often doing good comes pretty easy, the easy compliment, the extra time (but it is not really extra you were not doing anything anyway) standing up for what is right…oh yeah, that one is not always easy. The skipping out on what you want to do, because someone needs you….oh sorry, that one is not easy either! Opening the door for others, there, that is an easy one! Then there is always giving that extra cash that you don’t HAVE to have, but you could really blow on something cool…oh sorry another hard one. Ok I think you see where I am going. Today when we talk about doing good, it typically stays at the superficial point. Opening doors, being nice, giving something that you did not want anyway. We gee people do that, and think, “oh. Man. Those are good people”. When we see people giving more than most, giving time they do not really have to give, putting others first, standing up for what is right. We don’t think they are doing good…no, we think, “MAN those people are doing GREAT things. Sadly, we have blurred the lies between doing good, and being nice. Being nice is a great thing, but it is not what we are really talking about when we say doing good. Doing good, is being nice in work clothes. Doing good means you are putting forth the effort to make a difference, you are putting yourself, your faith, your God out for all the world to see, and you stand on that Rock, and shout to the world doing less than goods is no longer acceptable. It is not a sometimes thing, or an I don’t feel like it today thing. It is all time, all access, filled with the love of the Lord endeavor. Sound tiring? Sound daunting? Sound painful? It is, and there is not a person who will not feel weary once the undertaking begins.
If it is so hard, if it is so tiresome then why do it? First and foremost we do it for the Lord. If He can hang on a cross, then defeat death, I am fairly sure that we can endure the undertaking of doing good…..but look at what the scripture tells us. At the proper time we will reap a harvest…….if we do not give up. I hear this quoted, and it seems that the last part gets left off a lot. Hey, do good, and you will reap a harvest. Sounds like a plan! However it leaves off the important part….IF YOU DON’T GIVE UP. You have to persevere. You have to push through the hardship, you have to push your ego down, and set yourself to the side sometimes. You have to drive this life like it is the only one you will get, because guess what? IT IS! No do overs, no re takes, no replays, no take backs, or fingers crossed. This is an all in hand. So we push to do good. When our egos are bruised and humbled, we push on doing good. When we are tired form a long day at work, and don’t want to go help in the community, or in our church, we push through doing good. When life kicks our teeth in and we feel like we don’t deserve it, we keep on doing good. We do this because we know that God has been working for the good in our lives, and He has pushed through for us. We fight the weariness because we know that there will be a harvest at the proper time. What we work for today, will be repaid double at the time of harvest. What we don’t do is lay down and give up. That is exactly what the devil is hoping for. He is hoping that you will lay down, and give up. You know what comes next then right? You give up, and then you give in. You give in to the hate that comes when things do not go your way. You give in to the selfishness that tries to creep in at the end of the day. You give in to all of the things you were just fighting so hard to conquer with good.
There is little doubt that we will all get weary, we will feel like taking care of our wants, before other’s needs. We know that doing good, takes more work than just being nice. I do not know about you, but I do not care where nice guys finish. I will be with the good guys. They always finish first, because they are always the last. hanging at the back, rounding up the stragglers, helping the ones who need it, pulling those behind them, and pushing those in front of them. You can’t miss them. They are tired to the bone, but there is still the smile on their face, and a spark of the Lord in their eye. If you want to be first, then be last.
God Bless,
Brian Thetford
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