relationships (Proverbs 3:27-35) Doing Good With Right Motives

(Proverbs 3:27-35) 

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
     When it is in your power to do it.
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
     And tomorrow I will give it to you,”
     When you have it with you.
29 Do not devise harm against your neighbor,
     While he lives securely beside you.
30 Do not contend with a person for no reason,
     If he has done you no harm.
31 Do not envy a violent person,
     And do not choose any of his ways.
32 For the devious are an abomination to the Lord;
     But He is intimate with the upright.
33 The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,
     But He blesses the home of the righteous.
34 Though He scoffs at the scoffers,
     Yet He gives grace to the needy.
35 The wise will inherit honor,
     But fools increase dishonor.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

If someone has done some work for us, we need to pay them what is due.  Or if we have borrowed money or some item from someone, we need to repay them and/or return their item.  I do try to do this as soon as possible, because I do not want to forget.  Typically, I write these things down, simply because even when we have good intentions, we can so very easily forget.  

Back in Junior High, I lent a book to a friend.  After a few months, I asked if I could have it back, but she didn't even remember me giving her the book.  Well, she SAID that she didn't remember.  I was a little heartbroken.  It was such a great book!  Plus, I had saved up my allowance to buy it, and there wasn't any way I could find and buy that book again.  What was even sadder, was that, even though I wasn't mad at my friend, she still decided that we were not going to be friends anymore.

I've also been on the opposite side of such scenarios, where people had given me things or done things for me.  Some never said that I would have to pay them back, and some said that I didn't have to pay them, because they were only doing something out of the goodness of their heart.  But guess what?  They actually expected something in return.  And if you don't figure that out, you'll learn the hard way when you start feeling their wrath and/or avoidance.  And in cases where you don't pay someone for their services, you will probably find yourself in court.

While people can be unreasonable, this should not prevent us from doing good to others - without expecting anything in return!  We should truly do good when we can, with the pure motive of showing them God's lovingkindness, which is sacrificial and unconditional.  So now, if and when I lend anything out to someone, I do so with the understanding that I might not see that money or item ever again.  And I try to do things without any expectations of getting anything in return, not even a "thank-you".  Who knows, that person might be so deep in despair that they could be a state of just grasping for straws to survive, so, we shouldn't judge or be hurt.

I do want to point out verse 30, because it is very important for us to see the logic.  "Do not contend with a person for no reason, if he has done you no harm."  This does not mean that we should never pursue justice if someone has harmed us.  When someone has committed a crime against us, we most certainly should forgive them, but we should not enable them to go out and hurt more people.  If anyone hurts us in a way that is not illegal, we can have a conversation with them in efforts to reconcile or find a peaceful resolution.  But even if the situation isn't sorted out, we should still forgive them, or we will become the very thing that we hate.

God sees and knows.  But our motive for doing good certainly should never be out of fear of punishment, because the Lord does not want that for us.  Remember, for those who fear the Lord, we are not to fear or worry about anyone or anything!  And while He promises us rewards and an inheritance in heaven, and graciously sees to our needs and blesses us here on earth for the things we do in His righteousness, this shouldn't be the reason why we do good.  But as verse 32 says, He is intimate with the upright!  Therefore, our motive should come out of having this personal relationship with God, because we desire to follow after Jesus and be Christ-like.

Even with this in mind, it can be easy to stumble and get sidetracked.  We can find ourselves living fairly comfortably and start taking God for granted, thinking that we have what we do because what we have done, and soon we want more.  This is when we start envying others who seem to "have it all".  If and when we start putting the love of power and money ahead of the Lord, this is when we will be tempted into devious, divisive and even destructive behavior.  For so many reasons, this path only leads to many problems.

The answer and solution is to continue in our intimate relationship with the Lord.  We become whatever it is that we love, admire and honor.  Therefore, when we love, admire and honor the Lord, our desire will become, more and more, to be like Him.  Every day, we can ask the Lord to lead us to do things, in His wisdom, strength and love, allowing Him to work in and through us, all to His glory.  It is in this that He takes great pleasure!  And it is in this that He works things out for good!