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It's About What You Do



              Your doing reveals what is hidden in your soul.  3 John 1: 11 says: “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.”  The soul that connects deeply with God is capable of doing good in a way others are not.
              What have you done lately?  Perhaps this is a good time to stop and think about the things you do?  What is on your “To Do” list?  Or what is on your What I Did today list?  (Sometimes my “To Do” list is my intentions and doesn’t show what I have actually done.)  Your doing can open your soul to where you are presently and where you want to be.  What you do can be a window to the soul!
              You can stop right now and make a list of what you did yesterday.  Brainstorm everything—were you obsessing about a certain thought?  Did you spend time fuming in the car about traffic?  Those are actually things we do along with get groceries, praying, having devotions, doing Bible study, making calls, exercising, watching TV, gossiping, scheduling, eating, helping someone, completing work tasks, and more.  
              The next question I had was, “What is good?”  After I listed all the things I could think about from what I did yesterday, I circled the “not good” things.  I actually had a little gossip written down and a few others that couldn’t be technically good.  I’m not sure about my TV watching.  I didn’t watch anything “bad,” but was it necessary?  I can take a deep breath that out of the 13 things I did yesterday, only two were “bad” and one questionable.
              I don’t know if I will ever stop doing things that are bad or not best.  I do think it is important to think about what I do.  It’s not about keeping score; it is about checking in with my soul and how much I have connected to God.  As Paul made clear in 1 Corinthians 13—the most sacrificial act of service is nothing without having the motivation of love.
              We don’t necessarily like being known as a “Do-Gooder,” but doing good flows from a heart that is connected to God’s love.  That good might not get you noticed by your friends and co-workers, but it will be noticed by God.  He is the one who decides whether what we do is good.  He gives us a hint to doing good.  First you need to connect to God.  Doing good is the outcome of being with God.  Secondly doing good is definitely not doing evil.  If you sense that something is evil, you should do the opposite of it.  If someone is persecuting you, don’t persecute them back.  If someone is rejecting you, don’t reject them back.  Whatever evil you recognize in the world, make sure you don’t do that!
              If someone cuts you off in traffic, don’t get mad and retaliate.  Doing good is good for the soul as much as it shows you what is in your soul.  Go and do some good today.
Copyright © 2018. Deborah R Newman  teatimeforyoursoul.com  All Rights Reserved.

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