Sick and Tired of Doing Good?

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” –Galatians 6:9.

Living a cynical and distrustful life can rob us of the joy of serving God and others. Imagine going about our lives day in and day out always questioning the motives of other people. How exhausting that kind of living must be. I cannot imagine always judging others, and living life with a grudge or chip on one’s shoulder.

The Christian life was never only about doing good works. The good works component is the evidence of spiritual fruit from an enriched relationship with God. If the relationship with God is only surface and shallow, the fruit produced (works) will be limited and heavily reliant on a person’s physical strength. When we have a healthy relationship with God we discover that the power to accomplish acts of faith (works) are opportunities to display the power of the Almighty to those around us.

I think Church (and Christians in general) often get faith and works wrong.
Yes, we cannot have one without the other (James 2) but many times we attempt to force the works on empty resources of faith. Without filling the tanks of faith and a daily journey with The Father, our good deeds become devoid of meaning. Don’t get me wrong, good deeds are wonderful gifts to give to others, but the purpose of such extravagance of faith is to enrich the soil of evangelism, fellowship, and the Kingdom of Heaven. When we exclude the most important ingredient we are left with a shallow shell of “what could have been.” That is not to say that the Holy Spirit still can’t use such fruits, in fact, He certainly can and does, but rather we would miss out on the opportunity to become participants in this continued miracle of holy presence and transformation in other people.

Proper Time:

I must mention one last component of “doing good”. It is no secret, but sometimes in our fast-paced lives and instant gratification-driven society, we as Christians might forget that the reaping of harvest and the realization of our hard work and good deeds was never done according to our mortal schedules. Dare I say that we vainly attempt to become God when we force our temporal and fallible timeline and agenda on the production of such spiritual fruits. I think this is where our exhaustion becomes evident: in the doing, we expect to see immediate results and when they do not always come we become salty and cynical and tired of the effort. Is it no wonder, given our limited timeframes and short attention spans that we lose sight of the eternal possibilities and the miracle of divine intervention?

These words were written two thousand years ago to a fledgling group of Christ-followers in house churches. Their efforts were often rewarded with persecution, imprisonment, and death, but still, James encouraged them to not give up. Many of these early apostles, leaders, and teachers died before their good works and the good news could take root and spread throughout the world. Still, they persevered.

May I ask a difficult question?
Ok. Here goes:

Are we doing good works for our own applause? Is it about ego? Are we more concerned about what others (our leaders included) think?

If our answer (even in our own heads) is ‘yes‘ then perhaps we need to realign our relationship with the Almighty before we haphazardly build “good work” monuments to ego and self. The fruit of ego is shallow grounds of faith and will often produce limited and bruising fruit.

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:3-4.

Perhaps this pondering finds you worn out and desperate for rest. Do not keep serving when you are drawing from an empty tank. Go back to the true source of power and provision and be refilled and recharged. Burned-out pastors and exhausted Christ-followers need rest too. It’s okay to find space for yourself from time to time. Even Jesus went away and communed with the Father. Don’t neglect self-care and sabbath days.

Do not become weary in doing good and may you find the restoration and rest you need to persevere in this faith journey at this very time and chapter in your life.

-Something more to ponder today, until next time.