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Doing Good...

             For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. (I Peter 2:15-16)

The elections are over. Most (perhaps all) of the winners have been announced. Now, too many democrats will decide they have the spend the next four years being nasty and hateful, working harder than ever to shove their wishes down everyone’s throats. And too many republicans will decide either to sit back and let the government shove their wishes down everyone’s throat, or that they have the right to work harder than ever to shove their wishes down everyone’s throat. After all, “they” won. In so far as the democrat or the republican believes that God exists, they are likely to claim that God is on their side.

But today’s Scripture says that God rejects that sort of thinking. It is God’s will that we – each – individually do good. Some may claim that we can do more good by banding together or by using the government. I won’t go into the details of those, except to say that those are not an acceptable substitution for our doing individual good. With our own hands, talents, time, and treasure. We should be the best family members, the best neighbors, the best employees, the best citizens, and the best Christians we can be (always looking for ways  to improve) because if we’re doing the best job we can,  those who wish to criticize will be silenced or humiliated. Yes, what “these Christians” may believe is strange, but they hare goo people, or hard workers, etc.  If the critic worked half as hard…

The passage says to live as free people but as God’s slaves. That means we’re allowed to do what we want, within the limits that God commands or suggests. And the whole point is to become the sort of person who does – and wants to do – things within the limit that God commands or suggests.  What does that look like?

Loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths (Mark12:30)

Loving our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:30)

Doing to others what we would have them do to us (Matthew 7:12)

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

Forgiveness (Luke 11:4)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. (I Corinthians 13:4-8)

When we get those down, there are others…

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