November 6, 2023 -- Proverbs 3:27 -- How do you define what a good deed is?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
   when it is in your power to do it.
Proverbs 3:27 ESV

The second phrase of this verse in the original language reads: “when your hands are for God”. It is this second phrase that helps the believer understand the nature of good deeds. A common question asked by those who attend my in-prison Bible studies is this: “I know the wicked go to hell, but what about good people? From the context of the conversation such "good people" are not Christians, but people who are kind, generous and so on. It is a very important question and plagues many Christians in our pews as well. 

Good finds its only source in God our Father. This is Jesus’ own testimony in Mark 10:18. In James it is clear that “every good and perfect gift” comes to us from the Father of Lights. What a beautiful Name for our heavenly Father. For something to be good it must be an action the Father has commanded His people to do. So, keeping the commandments and guarding oneself from the activities clearly defined as evil is the first measure of what is good.

Good deeds must be done with a cheerful heart. The classical example, which I so vividly remember from a carving in the church of my youth, is the phrase “the Lord loves a cheerful giver” (II Corinthians 9:7). How we offer our service in doing good matters as well. Our hearts must be willingly obedient, cheerful before the Lord Who commands us to do good. 

Finally, if one is testing to see what a good deed is, this action or activity in question must be done to the glory of God. Consider this, an action might be something which accords with the Bible, and is done cheerfully, but it is carried out for the ego of the one doing it. The New Testament reminds us that even simple, daily activities like eating are to be done for the glory of God, or such deeds are willfully against His glory (I Corinthians 10:31).

Who is God to make such a high standard of what is good? He made us. We are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. It is precisely because the Father made us and the Son redeemed us and the Spirit of God directs us by His power ever deeper into the love of Christ that we rejoice in what is good, and seek to do what is good. As those who are saved by grace we reflect the goodness of God and His salvation so it is our heartfelt desire to do what is good.

Our Father in heaven hallowed be Your Name. How precious and beautiful it is to treasure up in our hearts this Name: the Father of Lights, the source of every good and every perfect gift. As this day stands new before us, help us by Your Spirit’s power to respond to the glorious gift of salvation that is ours in Christ by doing what You define as good and doing so with grateful, joyful hearts and bringing You all glory as we carrying it out. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2CeBoSQsBR0?si=hzZAA74llE-tNoto “To God be the Glory”

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