Do Good
Read This Week: Titus 1
Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are disobedient and worthless for doing anything good. – Titus 1:16
A do-gooder. This is not a term thrown around too much these days. You probably won’t see it in a group text, in the dialogue of your favorite Netflix show or being used at a party to describe someone. Do-gooder has dropped out of the lexicon of everyday life, but people who say they know and love God need to see it make a comeback.
A do-gooder is someone who does things that they think will help others even if the other people might not find their actions helpful. Titus 1 tell us that this type of activity and lifestyle identifies a person as one who knows God. So, those who claim to know Jesus and follow him are, in essence, do-gooders. People who lovingly help others and make their lives better even if those people don’t want it or think they need it.
There is nothing like doing work that benefits people. Nothing has more fulfillment than helping someone with a problem, hurt, hang-up or crisis. Nothing has purer contentment than helping someone reach their potential. Nothing communicates the heart of God to the world like living with integrity and serving others.
We all have gifts, abilities, and experiences that are perfect for someone else’s needs. Because we all have those resources, we must use them. Paul says that people who have the capacity to do good but refuse to do so are disobedient and deny God with the way they live.
William Wilberforce, an English politician, and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade once said: “No man has the right to be idle… Where is it in such a world as this that health, and leisure, and affluence may not find some ignorance to instruct, some wrong to redress, some want to supply, some misery to alleviate?”
Followers of Jesus don’t have the right to be idle. Those who claim to know God are do-gooders. They count it a joy and privilege to help and do good things as they see opportunities every day.
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Please join the conversation and contribute your thoughts on this topic below in the comments section. Click in the box marked COMMENT and then click SUBMIT COMMENT when you’ve finished your post.
In verse 16 of Titus 1, God spoke to me about being a doer of the word and not just a hearer. What we do with God is so much better than what we do by yourself. God says: “It’s better when we do it together.” For me, I’d rather do one good thing with God each day, than a thousand others.
This is such good insight about priorities and valuing what is most important, Ken. Your post made me think of Psalm 84:10 where it says: “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!” It is so much better when we do life with God.
I don’t know many people who do more good than you, Ken.
In Titus 1, God is saying to me and you: “I love my chosen ones and they love me. As a Christian, I have called you to a life of serving and leading. One who is willing to not only grow in My ways but to lead and influence others also while serving with all of your heart.” We must be willing to say yes to God with an open heart and to learn how to be faithful to Him in all we do. We should promote the faith and help God’s chosen ones to lead them in the ways of the Lord.
You have no idea how many people you help and inspire, Heidi.
This is a great point, Heidi, because openness and willingness are sometimes all God needs from us. Just a faithful heart that is always willing to say yes to Him. He makes sure in His power that there is always an impact when we say yes. The power of saying yes to God is beyond anything we could ever imagine.
I have found that when I help someone for the right reasons, I get a wonderful feeling knowing that it came from God. If I take the time to help them physically and spiritually, I feel His presence more than if I was doing it for any other reason.
Wow! That’s awesome, Sam! Thank you for sharing and blessing us with words of encouragement.
The motive is so important, Sam. God looks at the heart and knows us from the inside out. When our hearts are in the place of desiring to help others because it is the right thing to do and conforms us more to the image of Jesus, people are truly blessed, we are fulfilled and God is glorified. It also helps us remember what God has done for us in Christ.
V16. God is saying: “When you act with Me, we accomplish great things together. You miss every shot that you don’t take.” What that means to me is that we shouldn’t be all talk and no action. Be a doer with God, not just a hearer only.
Titus chapter 1 Verse 9 is saying to me that the power of Christianity is in the word of God (Jesus). The faithful word is the true Word of God. Holding fast to it means that he has stored His word down deep in our heart. The only way to be an effective soul winner is to have the Word of God totally embedded into our hearts to the extent that when we open our mouths, the Word of God comes forth.
We love hearing God through you, Jeri. Jesus is the Word and you are in Him and He is in you.
Awesome!
Jeri, this is a needed comment and insight. It reminded me of Psalm 119:11: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” The word, buried deep in our hearts, is a guide and informs, protects and enlightens us.
I also appreciate your use of embedded which gives the connotation and word picture that the word of God is planted into our hearts, has roots and isn’t going anywhere. It has a permanence, durability that carries us through life and is expressed to others.
In our meeting tonight, we discussed Titus 1:1 and 9. God was saying to me, “I have chosen you to be my special messengers, encourage others with the scriptures that you have learned. It’s important for you to continue every day to learn how to lead, encourage others who desire to serve and help others to grow in my ways.” What this means to me is that it can be difficult to help someone who says they know God but then they are never available to Him. I’m learning to focus on those who are willing and desire to not only know Him but are taking what they learn and helping others. People that desire to learn God’s ways and live to please Him first!
Heidi, this is so insightful. Availability to God and his word and willingness of heart to be teachable is really the formula for us to grow and increase in intimacy with God. People that make themselves available to learn from God and others are those who grow to profound depths and share that with others. If we would just slow down and be people of intentionality toward God and pleasing Him, then our lives would change and our impact on the world would be greater.
In Titus chapter 1 verse 4, tonight during our meeting, God gave us a song:
When you let me in, let me in your heart
I will set you free, set you free
Giving you grace, peace, faith
Giving you all you need.
Let me in, let me in your heart
I am your Savior, Jesus Christ
And I love you
God gave me this song and was saying to me that when we go to Him, he can set us free of all sin. Jesus wants us to love him first and when we do, his blessings will overwhelm us.
Alma, you are a blessing from God to us. Your new songs from Him have a special and impactful ministry in our lives. Thank you for having the courage to listen and sing for Him.
Awesome!
I love this, Alma. It made me think of Matthew 22:37, “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'” To love God with our entire being is the first and all-encompassing thing we should do. When we do we feel the power of his love and that power sets us free and reminds us of the gift we have in Jesus. It also reminded me of this song by Gungor:
There’s a world at war
Lost in suffering
Silent casualties
God grant us peace
In these desperate times
Love will hold us near
Love will join our hands
Teach us to have no fear
So let the light in
Keep it shining
Let it break into the darkness
All the love dares us to see
We’ll all be free
The love of God sets us free not only from sin but from a life oppressed by sin. What a thought and reality, right?
This truly speaks to me in many different ways. I feel in society today there are a lot of people that have a consistent “quid pro quo” mentality which in my eyes negates doing good. The purpose of being a do-gooder and really embracing God is to help share that love with the world and bring God to those who may not know Him. Doing good for the sake of a reward or expecting something in return cheapens the good act. However, doing good to truly help and provide love to others with God by our side makes it a divine approach and makes all the difference in the world.
Doing good by God’s word is a blessing and a reward in itself. Like Ken said its easy to be a “hearer” but to take action takes courage and that’s what brings us closer to our spiritual selves.
I like what you said Javaid, especially the part about doing good being a blessing and a reward in itself. Can you tell me more about why we should do good, without seeking something for ourselves in return? It seems so counter-intuitive to the ways of the world and the focus of so many in obtaining success.
Kindness and love begets kindness and love. Some of the best relationships in business I’ve made are those where kind acts and gestures were in place without seeking something in return. On the other side of the coin when I have performed kind acts and gestures for those who are not familiar with God or simply doing good, they get uncomfortable; almost wondering why I would do this without expecting a return favor. This to me is what God has in place for us as far as being the best we can be to each other. Performing an act of genuine kindness without expecting anything, recognition or otherwise, takes courage, and when that occurs God smiles upon us. That to me is a true reward.
To Jason – I find that doing a brutally honest gut check with myself and God is the best way to see if my kind act is TRULY one that is done for the sake of being kind rather than seeking something. For instance even something as simple as performing a kind gesture for a business associate with the hopes that it will strengthen the relationship STILL has strings attached, albeit smaller and more frail, but still strings. Performing that act because it’s what God would want and is a do-good gesture, is genuine, pure and filled to the brim with God’s love and blessing.
The long and short is that when conversing with God and keeping Him in every thought and conversation, you will pursue the proper path.
Javaid, this is a good post. Thank you for sharing. The motivation of the heart is certainly key to pursuing and advancing good, both in the routine of our daily lives and in the big moments of help and service. The role of the heart’s motive in doing good and worshipping goes all the way back to Cain and Abel and is something God values in us as we serve others.
I’m curious, how do you practically go about checking your heart when doing good or approaching the idea of serving or loving acts? How does the word of God inform your life in this area as you seek to make a difference in the world?
As we have been reading 1 Titus this week, God has drawn my attention to verse 15. He’s been saying to me to have a pure heart because that is what we share and give to others. We don’t do it to gain favor from others because if we do it for man’s praise then it does not come from God. We are to follow God’s word and allow it to flow through us to others, always allow Him to speak and share through us. It has nothing to do with self-gain but with what others gain from us.
Sam, this line needs to be quoted and put up for all of us to see and be reminded of its truth: “It has nothing to do with self-gain but with what others gain from us.” God desires for us to touch and serve people in His strength and power and with the motivation of doing it for His glory and their good (1 Peter 4:10-11).
Tell us how you go about checking your heart and motivation before you serve and help people? What do you do to make sure your reasons align with God’s heart?
God was showing me in Titus 1:16, We don’t really know what is in people’s hearts. God knows who really loves Him and who does not. God is saying to me and you: “Will you be the one to reach out to others with my love, serve and encourage others for Me? You may not always know what people are going through, so please don’t give up on them. I never give up on you.” I just want to thank God for never giving up on us!
What a wonderful day today with the family of God. I heard so many amazing things about the word of God and can only thank him and his words through others. As we have been reading 1 Titus this week, he drew my attention to many verses but the one that stood out was verse 9. God was saying to just stick with him and his true teachings so when you speak of me to others, you will know in your heart you are speaking my truth and my way. And what that means to me is to always do good works out of love and understanding for others. Try to be more and more like Jesus in your actions and your teachings to others.