FATIGUE IN DOING GOOD
There can be two common confusions about continuing to do good. One is uncertainty about what ‘doing good’ actually looks like. The other is that it is simply too hard to sustain. There are many other dynamics involved in doing good, but these two seem to swirl around us in our kind of ministry.
One reason for this confusion is that we live in a world with increasingly diverse opinions about what is the right thing to do in different situations. That can even be as basic as, “What does good teaching look like?” Some subsequent questions can include: Does good teaching focus strictly on outcomes based on strong data collection? Does good teaching mean making sure students never “feel bad” (whatever that might mean for you and them)? Does good teaching mean that you run a perfectly behaved classroom? [PS – we encourage you to read Augustine’s On Christian Teaching to help answer “What is good teaching?”]
And then there is the issue of keeping it all going. We are told that teaching is becoming more demanding. This apparent increased workload is often reported to be because of more bureaucracy, and more encumbrances around what to teach.
How are we to keep it up?
Our ‘friend’, the Apostle Paul, gives this pastoral advice:
Galatians 6:9-10 So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. [The Message]
Paul has explained what ‘good’ is about earlier in his letter– it is the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. Earlier, Jesus had explained that we are to be His salt and light in being the message as well as the messengers of this grace and truth. This includes how we relate to each other, our students, and their families. But Paul has also reminded us in his previous chapter that we are not alone. We are only able to demonstrate grace and truth through the work of His Holy Spirit. He also notes that perseverance leads to bearing fruit in God’s time, in His way. That is why we are to help anyone we can with the resources God gives us, within our contexts.
It is God who decides what resources we have – our gifts and time. It is God who enables us to see the need around us. It is God who provides the opportunity and strength to act on this discernment.
Why then should we weigh ourselves down with being worried about tomorrow when God gives us enough to do today? (see Matthew 6:33-34) It is God’s gifts to us that we are using to do good. And it is in His strength that we can do good and speak truth. The Apostle Peter summarises it so well for us:
Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. [1 Peter 4:8-11, The Message]
Amen.
Stephen Fyson