Find Something Good to Do
Sometimes we overcomplicate things.
Maybe it is a by-product of our scientific age. We split things up and break them down so we can know more. It is a good and important thing to do, but when we apply that approach across the board, life can get pretty complex.
When it all comes down to it, when you boil it down, the recipe for your day is pretty simple.
Find something good to do.
Imagine today as a stroll down a path (something you have surely done many times before). As you walk, there are things around you which catch your attention. Perhaps a bird here or there, an insect, or a butterfly. They catch your attention and draw you in. Think that way about doing good today. If the opportunity to do something good catches your eye, let yourself be drawn in and go ahead and do it. Don’t hesitate.
Sometimes, what causes us to walk by the opportunity to do something good, is the desire to do something great. Our social media-saturated culture often pushes us in this direction. It teaches us to value deeds which can be caught on camera, edited down into a small chunk, and then made to look like you achieved it quickly without any practice or effort. In our desire to lay hold of the great, we can miss the good.
Good deeds are the bedrock of society.
Cultures, families, and relationships thrive when people get about doing good in countless little ways which hardly anyone notices. It is those who put their heads down and get busy doing good things without drawing attention to themselves – they are the salt of the earth.
God seems to place a high value on small, seemingly unnoticed, good deeds.
Take the book of Titus for example. You can’t get through a chapter without bumping into this idea. This sneaky thread runs through the whole book. Like a dolphin surfacing to breathe, the need to find good things to do shows up regularly. Here are some examples:
An elder is to be someone who is ‘a lover of good’ (Titus 1:8). If you are looking for a leader in your church, look for someone who loves doing good things.
Rebellious empty talkers and deceivers are ‘unfit for any good work’ (Titus 1:10,16).
Older women are not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine but ‘are to teach what is good’ (Titus 2:3). They are to train the younger women to love their husbands, be self-controlled and pure, and to be working at home and kind (Titus 2:4-5). Good things to do.
The young men are to ‘be a model of good works’ (Titus 2:7).
Titus is instructed to remind people ‘to be ready for every good work’ (Titus 3:1). As though he were saying, ‘Keep your powder dry, people. Be ready. Opportunities will come along today to do good things. Grab them like you would a $20,000 prize.’
Those who have believed in God need to ‘be careful to devote themselves to good works’ (Titus 3:8). Being careful is normal. Today you will drive carefully, you will be careful not to get hurt, you will be careful crossing the road, and you will be careful not to hurt others. Did you remember to be careful to devote yourself to doing good works?
The people of the early church were to ‘devote themselves to good works’ (Titus 3:14) through providing daily necessities and living productive lives (Titus 3:14). Keep your head down. You don’t need to put it on Facebook or Instagram. Be productive. Work hard. Don’t make a scene. Provide for daily necessities.
There will be millions of people who will get about doing good today and it won’t make the news. It may make some social media post and gain a few likes, but for the most part, good things which happen today will go unnoticed. This is because doing good is normal. It isn’t newsworthy. When we see it, it doesn’t stand out, because it is what we are supposed to be doing. Sure there are rare opportunities where you may have the opportunity to do something heroic, but most of the time run-of-the-mill unnoticed good is the order of the day.
So you worked hard, served your boss, made a living today so your kids could eat and go to school? Well done. You nailed it. Those are good things, even if nobody thanks you for them.
To do something other than what is good is to engage in actions which undo creation and dehumanise people. It is not human to do things which dishonour God, but to be drawn to doing good things like iron filings to a magnet.
Jesus Christ… gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Titus 2:13–14
Not sure what to do today?
Find something good to do.