Doing Vs. Doing Good

“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good….” Acts 10:38

He was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and He went about doing good. What a wonderful tribute to affirm Jesus’ life. However, this is more than nice sentiment. It is a statement about the importance of first being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit before trying to do good. For without the empowering of the Spirit, we may end up just going about performing acts that on the surface look good but in reality are an unhealthy expression of the false self. Actions that are truly for Kingdom good require a yielding of the self to the control of the Spirit so that our doing is for the sake of others and for the glory of God.

So how do you know if your doing is Spirit empowered or self-driven? Let me offer you several indicators of an unhealthy doing.

1. The acts of goodness are done primarily for ourselves.

I’m reminded of the story of a boy scout who came to his troop meeting with scratches on his face and bruises on his arms. When asked by his scout master about the cause of his injuries, the scout simply said, “I was helping an old lady to cross the street.”

“What happened?” the scout master asked.

“Well,” the boy said, “she didn’t really want to go.”

So it is with many of our well-intentioned actions of supposed goodness. We’re actually doing them for ourselves and not for others. We want to be seen as being the helpful one, the one who goes the extra mile, or the one who cares for others. Such actions stroke our ego and make us feel important. This, of course, is the goal. We’re doing things to meet our own need to be helpful. In such a state, we may or may not be actually meeting the real needs of others, and we certainly aren’t doing it for the glory of God.

So before we start doing something, we need to ask ourselves, “Whose need am I trying to meet – my own or others?”

2. We become irritated when others aren’t doing what we are doing and/or the way we are doing them.

This is a form of the Martha syndrome that we see in Luke’s gospel. Martha is shown doing household chores while her sister, Mary, is sitting at Jesus’ feet savoring the moment. Luke tells us that Martha was distracted by her preparations. The word distracted means to be dragged about which is hardly affirming. Eventually, Martha’s irritation boils over as she demands that Jesus order Mary to start helping. Jesus’ response is telling. He reveals that Martha is worried and bothered by all her frenzied actions but that Mary had chosen the better thing.

So it is with us. When we find ourselves resenting that others aren’t into the same doing that consumes us or aren’t following our example for how things are done, we can know that we are no longer operating in the power of the Spirit and that our doing isn’t really all that good.

3. We are obsessed with filling every waking moment with more doing.

In Mark’s gospel we find the story of Jesus retreating from the crowds to spend a quiet moment in prayer. His disciples come looking for Him and remind him that many other people are looking for him as well. No doubt the crowd is wanting the same life-changing touch from Him that others had experienced. However, instead of responding to the urgent expectations of the disciples, Jesus indicated that He needed to go somewhere else to preach.

This story reminds us that as important as Jesus’ work was, he wasn’t obsessed and driven by it. Instead He found a rhythm of work and prayer that sustained him while meeting the needs of others along the way.

We need to learn the same rhythm. Otherwise we will find ourselves pushed along by the expectations and demands of others that will eventually drain our spiritual vitality. We also need to understand what’s underneath our obsessive doing. Often there are unhealthy dynamics operating within.

For one thing our driven actions are fueled by our need for the approval of others. We think that if we do what others expect us to do that they will like us, and we will remain in their favor. Sadly, the need for approval is like a narcotic addiction. We find that we have to have more and more of it in order to sustain our sense of well-being.

Likewise an obsession with doing betrays an overly inflated view of our own importance. It’s a pride thing. We want others to see how vital we are and how dependent on us they need to be. Sadly, we often get what we want as others allow us to continue in our frantic pace. Eventually, however, we will hit a wall as our physical and spiritual resources are drained. It is then that we discover that we are but flesh as is everyone else.

Finally, obsessive doing is a way to avoid facing the true condition of our souls. Quiet moments before the Lord have a way of uncovering areas of spiritual weakness. But rather than seeing the benefit of God’s discipline, we avoid it by more doing and going. We leave no space to deal with our inner brokenness.

So let me ask you a question. Are you going about doing good or are you just going about doing? At stake in your answer is the glory of God, the benefit of others and your own spiritual health.