Scripture

Galatians 6:9 (New Living Translation)

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.

Consider

We’ve all experienced that difficult relationship, the one that will not improve no matter how hard we try. We’ve been kind, patient, cheerful, and forgiving, but to no avail—the other person refuses to budge. Our efforts to do good feel one-sided and pointless.

How can we keep on doing good in the face of such resistance?

To answer, let’s examine those things that might make us weary of doing good:

• We see no tangible results for our efforts.
• Our good deeds go unnoticed and unappreciated.
• We lose sight of why we are trying to do good.
• Our selfish nature keeps reasserting itself.
• We believe the other person does not deserve our acts of goodness.
• We feel mentally or physically exhausted.
• Resentment and despair take root in our hearts.
• There is no balance of effort; the other person won’t meet us halfway.
• Our one-sided efforts make us look foolish.

Paul tells us that the key to doing good when we’re tempted to give up is to trust God. In his perfect timing, Paul says, God will produce a harvest of good results for all your efforts. You may or may not see those results, or the results you see may not be what you expected. The relationship itself may fail. But God promises that your obedience in doing good—regardless of the other person’s response—will never go unanswered; your labor in the Lord will never be in vain.

Our motivation for doing good, therefore, is key to whether we can sustain it.

For example, if we do kind and generous deeds in the hope of earning love and appreciation for ourselves, then we will become frustrated and resentful when our efforts go unnoticed. With a mindset of treating good deeds as an investment, we are likely to reconsider investing in a relationship that does not give us the positive results we seek.

If, however, we are motivated by our desire to please God and to act in ways that make us like Christ, then we are likely to keep on doing good regardless of how our efforts are received. With a mindset of gratitude for God’s goodness to us, doing good becomes a natural and joyful expression of our faith, sustained by the Spirit’s endless flow of grace rather than by the other person’s response to our good deeds.

Pray

FATHER, how thankful I am that you are a good and loving God! Create in me a heart that yearns to do good for your kingdom’s sake, not because it might earn me attention and praise. Make me like Jesus, who reflected your good nature in every instance of his life, no matter how he was treated or how worthy a person was to receive his kindness and care. Give me faith to trust you for the harvest of blessing my obedience will bring in your perfect timing.

Reflect

1 Corinthians 15:58; Titus 3:8

Share

If you resent doing good for someone in your life, what does that tell you?