Right and wrong ... everyone knows it's there. We may not always agree on what it is, but we all know it's there. Even atheists with no logical basis for it other than mere pragmatism know it's there. There are things that are wrong to do and there are things that are right to do. We all know that. And we all violate them.
I'm not arguing that point. Here's what I'm considering. Why would we avoid what is wrong and do what is right? For various people there are various answers, I'm sure, but for Christians "because God said so" should be enough. It is my suspicion that, if you are human like me, sometimes it isn't.
Here's what I'm thinking. Do we do what is right because it's right, or do we do what is right because it is expedient? Do we do what is right because God says to (and we want to please God) or do we do what is right hoping for a particular outcome? It doesn't sound pretty, and we'd likely be quick to deny it, but I'm pretty sure we've all failed to do what is right because we don't expect it to "work". On the other hand, I'm equally sure that we've done what is right and been disappointed because it didn't produce the results we wanted. Two sides of the same coin, you see.
I remember once talking to a friend about a particular problem between he and his wife. I told him, "You need to talk to her about this, you know." He answered, "Yeah, but it won't make any difference. Why bother?" "Because it is right" was not a sufficient answer. And in that case, he knew what was right to do but wouldn't do it because it wouldn't work.
I'm sure we've all experienced that moment when we muster the courage to apologize to someone for doing something wrong only to have them rebuff your plea for forgiveness. "Ouch!" you may have thought. "That didn't' work." And it makes it all the more difficult to do the same thing next time, doesn't it?
We are supposed to be Christians -- followers of Christ. Christ's "successful mission" had Him telling the truth, preaching the Gospel, healing and forgiving, and ... killed. "Ouch!" He may have thought. "That didn't' work." No, of course not! Because doing what is right is its own reward. Avoiding sin is its own end. Pleasing God is sufficient purpose.
We even have a phrase for this. "No good deed goes unpunished." Yeah, we get that. But remember the next time you wonder whether you should do what is right, even if it might not have the effect you hope for. Doing what is right is always right. Doing what is right for the reward of it cheapens it. God said it. Believe it. Do it. It's much better that way, pleasant outcome or not.
2 comments:
At the same time, not expecting reward of some kind (eternally speaking) is hard to do. I KNOW that my faith should do it. I KNOW there are no works I could perform that would guarantee my salvation. But I can't help hope that I've added some holy brownie points for doing the right thing. It seems that I get something of value no matter what. If my good deed is punished, I still can fall back on pride that I did a good thing anyway. But that isn't a good thing exactly, is it? Pride? In doing good? Doesn't Paul warn against that?
Then there's the chicken/egg problem: Do I do good to please the Lord or am I compelled to do good because of my faith. Is my faith really that strong that I'm not seeking His pleasure in doing good?
As you can see, I've over-analysed this to death. And I didn't misspell the word. I try not to think about it and just do good as I understand it and leave it at that. Easier said than done.
I'm not sure that it is wrong to expect reward. The Bible is full of promises of reward for obedience along with warnings of consequences for failure. God apparently believes that these two motivations are good.
I believe that we humans are built to seek our own pleasure. Our problem, according to C.S. Lewis, is not that we seek our own pleasure, but that we are too easily satisfied with cheap pleasure. God wants us to delight in Him. When our personal pleasure is simply the expression of joy we find in Him, then it isn't a bad thing. We call that "praise".
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