Have you ever tried to help someone and been smacked down for it?
If you are older than about 20, the answer is probably yes. It could be something as innocuous as holding a door open for someone (a classic — and classy — do good move), and then having the person say, in kind of a mean sounding way, “I can get my own door.”
If that sounds like a made-up story, it’s only because it’s hard to imagine, but it happened to me once. I got over it immediately, but it was kind of a shock.
A big part of this whole “do good” thing, as you know, is that you don’t do it for the reward. Rewards (“Thank you!”) are nice and enjoyable and reinforce doing good. We all like them. But they are not the reason.
Recently a new friend, who happens to be in the book business, learned that I was writing a book. He asked, “If you knew you wouldn’t sell a single copy of this book, would you still write it?” Well, yes.
If you knew you weren’t going to be praised or even recognized for doing something good, would you still do it?
What if you knew you were going to be criticized?
The desire for “outside” approval can be — and I think is — one of the biggest challenges of the social media age. If we don’t get followers, or clicks, or likes, or retweets, we feel like we have failed.
Allow me to clarify one thing: there is a difference in making a living on the approval of others and living on the approval of others. The first is fine, and a lot of people do it. The second is dangerous, and I do not recommend it.
How far would you go?
All of us like approval. Most of us are confident enough and wise enough to know when to draw the line in seeking it. Some are not.
It is only speculation, so please take it as that, but I can imagine that Thomas Matthew Crooks thought he would be famous if he assassinated Mr. Trump. Perhaps he believed he was doing good.
The same is true of another “assassin,” of sorts. A man named Judas Iscariot.
There are plenty of assassinations in the Bible — this was technically not one of them, but it was close enough to count. Judas had been a follower of Jesus for around three years. At some point in his life, Judas left behind what he had and joined with a rag-tag group of young men who walked with, ate with, and learned from Jesus.
Jesus and Judas didn’t always agree. One area they differed on was the use of the small amount of money they had. Judas had an informed opinion about that topic, because he was the treasurer.
Justification and wisdom
When he finally decided that he would betray Jesus, his question to the authorities was, “How much will you pay me?”Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver — perhaps $400 in today’s wages, though the value is not really relevant. Money, in this case, was used only as a justification for an action Judas had been thinking about for a while.
Apparently some assumed reward, whether it was only fame or also fortune, was in the mind of young Mr. Crooks. He did not see it, dying within seconds of his opening act.
As for Judas, he lived to see that his act was evil, and he tried to reverse it. He tried to give back the money and said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” Refused by those he thought were on his side, Judas ended his own life.
When you find yourself justifying some action of yours you think is good, think again. Good is its own reward and does not need to be justified.
It doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult to recognize the justification of our own actions, but a lot of people miss it. Judas missed it. But once the action is taken, justifications melt away. They are no longer of any use except to remind us of our guilt.
What it takes to decide whether an act is truly good is simple wisdom. It does not require a great deal of deliberation, it requires reflection. Of course the more good you do, the more you know good from evil.
While it is possible for people to take the good you do and spurn it, always choose good. Never, ever, do evil while calling it good.
A warning
Isaiah was a prophet who, inspired by God, wrote these words about 2,700 years ago:
Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
The other way around
Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. He was Jacob’s favorite, in large part because he was the first son of Rachel, the love of Jacob’s life.
His brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, where, 13 years later, they came to buy food. Joseph saw them, treated them kindly, and eventually brought the entire family of Jacob (also called Israel) to Egypt. When Jacob died the brothers assumed Joseph would now kill them, and they finally asked for Joseph’s forgiveness.
Here is my favorite part: Joseph said to them, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”
Isn’t that amazing? God, who loves good, took an evil act and turned it into good: Joseph, sold into slavery, saved not only Egypt but the entire family of Israel. That family became the nation of Israel.
Judas did evil, and God turned that into the greatest good ever.
But don’t put God to the test. Never do evil. Always do good. It’s in you.
Those who call evil good and good evil
Have you ever tried to help someone and been smacked down for it?
If you are older than about 20, the answer is probably yes. It could be something as innocuous as holding a door open for someone (a classic — and classy — do good move), and then having the person say, in kind of a mean sounding way, “I can get my own door.”
If that sounds like a made-up story, it’s only because it’s hard to imagine, but it happened to me once. I got over it immediately, but it was kind of a shock.
A big part of this whole “do good” thing, as you know, is that you don’t do it for the reward. Rewards (“Thank you!”) are nice and enjoyable and reinforce doing good. We all like them. But they are not the reason.
Recently a new friend, who happens to be in the book business, learned that I was writing a book. He asked, “If you knew you wouldn’t sell a single copy of this book, would you still write it?” Well, yes.
If you knew you weren’t going to be praised or even recognized for doing something good, would you still do it?
What if you knew you were going to be criticized?
The desire for “outside” approval can be — and I think is — one of the biggest challenges of the social media age. If we don’t get followers, or clicks, or likes, or retweets, we feel like we have failed.
Allow me to clarify one thing: there is a difference in making a living on the approval of others and living on the approval of others. The first is fine, and a lot of people do it. The second is dangerous, and I do not recommend it.
How far would you go?
All of us like approval. Most of us are confident enough and wise enough to know when to draw the line in seeking it. Some are not.
It is only speculation, so please take it as that, but I can imagine that Thomas Matthew Crooks thought he would be famous if he assassinated Mr. Trump. Perhaps he believed he was doing good.
The same is true of another “assassin,” of sorts. A man named Judas Iscariot.
There are plenty of assassinations in the Bible — this was technically not one of them, but it was close enough to count. Judas had been a follower of Jesus for around three years. At some point in his life, Judas left behind what he had and joined with a rag-tag group of young men who walked with, ate with, and learned from Jesus.
Jesus and Judas didn’t always agree. One area they differed on was the use of the small amount of money they had. Judas had an informed opinion about that topic, because he was the treasurer.
Justification and wisdom
When he finally decided that he would betray Jesus, his question to the authorities was, “How much will you pay me?”Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver — perhaps $400 in today’s wages, though the value is not really relevant. Money, in this case, was used only as a justification for an action Judas had been thinking about for a while.
Apparently some assumed reward, whether it was only fame or also fortune, was in the mind of young Mr. Crooks. He did not see it, dying within seconds of his opening act.
As for Judas, he lived to see that his act was evil, and he tried to reverse it. He tried to give back the money and said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” Refused by those he thought were on his side, Judas ended his own life.
When you find yourself justifying some action of yours you think is good, think again. Good is its own reward and does not need to be justified.
It doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult to recognize the justification of our own actions, but a lot of people miss it. Judas missed it. But once the action is taken, justifications melt away. They are no longer of any use except to remind us of our guilt.
What it takes to decide whether an act is truly good is simple wisdom. It does not require a great deal of deliberation, it requires reflection. Of course the more good you do, the more you know good from evil.
While it is possible for people to take the good you do and spurn it, always choose good. Never, ever, do evil while calling it good.
A warning
Isaiah was a prophet who, inspired by God, wrote these words about 2,700 years ago:
The other way around
Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. He was Jacob’s favorite, in large part because he was the first son of Rachel, the love of Jacob’s life.
His brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, where, 13 years later, they came to buy food. Joseph saw them, treated them kindly, and eventually brought the entire family of Jacob (also called Israel) to Egypt. When Jacob died the brothers assumed Joseph would now kill them, and they finally asked for Joseph’s forgiveness.
Here is my favorite part: Joseph said to them, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”
Isn’t that amazing? God, who loves good, took an evil act and turned it into good: Joseph, sold into slavery, saved not only Egypt but the entire family of Israel. That family became the nation of Israel.
Judas did evil, and God turned that into the greatest good ever.
But don’t put God to the test. Never do evil. Always do good. It’s in you.
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