Do Good!

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)

People today think in terms of power.  They see the people with power and those without.  They use power to force change.  That does work in the short term, but Christians see things differently. We have a different strategy.  We work via the means of love.  We love because he [God] first loved us (1 John 4:19).  It is an upside down way of thinking by the world’s standards, but it is God’s way and I believe in the long run it works much better than going for power.

It is a radical way of thinking, but scripture is full of commands to love.  God calls us to be strong and to do everything in love (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).  We are not wimpy.  We are strong when we love.  God is our strength (Ephesians 6:10).  We do not have to do it on our own.  The Holy Spirit provides us with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

God calls us to love even our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-45).  We have been given a ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).  We need to be about reconciling people to each other and especially to God. 

So we can overcome evil by doing good.  What does doing good look like?  Micah 6:8 tells us:

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

To “do justice” means we act justly, treat others fairly, and speak the truth in love. We act with integrity.  To “love kindness” means we remember the kindness and mercy we have received from God.  We are just as guilty as everyone else (Romans 3:23), but because we have been forgiven and been given a full life, we can give, serve, and  forgive others.  We can be kind.  And “to walk humbly with your God” is to recognize that we are made whole only because of God’s mercy. We walk, live our lives, with God guiding us.  We imitate God (Ephesians 4:32-5:2). We have compassion toward others and show kindness, love, and concern for them.  We are able to do this only out of God’s amazing love, grace, and mercy that he pours into us and through us to others. This is the way we can do good and overcome evil.

Like Abraham, we are called to be a blessing (Genesis 12:2-3).  (Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”.) So in being a blessing, we “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called”. (1 Peter 3:9).  We are a blessing when in love we imitate Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1). 

Jeremiah 29:7 reminds us also to “seek the welfare of the city” where we live, so this doing good is more than just interpersonal relationships. It is also about the good of the community.  We can change the world for the better, by doing good in love.

Let our faith determine our response to the circumstances of life. We will not be overcome by evil, and we will overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).