Three Simple Rules: Do Good Sermon Romans 12:9-21

Prepare our hearts, O God, to accept you Word. Silence in us any voices but your own, so that we may hear your Word and also do it; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Have you ever seen the movie Pay It Forward? It is a movie based on a book and it is about a boy, named Trevor, who is given an assignment by his teacher to come up with an idea to change the world. Trevor’s idea is called pay it forward. Instead of paying a favor back to the one who gave it, you pay it forward to someone else and then that person pays it forward and so on.

We are a generous country when the need is great. After 9/11 our country came together to help those who had lost loved ones. Strangers went to ground zero to help other strangers out of the rubble to the detriment of their own health. After the tsunamis in Southeast Asia in 2004 many Americans gave food, money, and time to help those people in need. I know several medical students who took their vacation time to travel to those countries to help the people in recovery. In 2005, three years ago this week, we joined together again to help the people of New Orleans and the Gulf coast after Hurricane Katrina. Many church groups are still there helping in the very slow rebuilding process.

We do well when times are hard, when tragedies of natural or man-made origin occur; we ban together and help out our neighbors, even perfect strangers. What about the rest of the time? What about when there is not a national tragedy? What happens then? We don’t do as well with the doing good, do we? Why does it take a national tragedy for humans to treat each other as God intended? Why can’t we do good all the time?

That is our second rule. Do we remember the first simple rule? Do no harm. The second rule is like the first and is as easy to remember it is do good. That does sound simple doesn’t it? Do good. But what does it really mean? It is easy to remember, but it is much more challenging to put it into practice. Paul spoke about is in Romans 12. He said “love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor” and “Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.” Paul knew because he learned from the example of Jesus, who spent his entire ministry doing good for all the people he encountered. Jesus teaches us to love everyone even our enemies and to do good even to those who persecute you.
You might be saying, well I already do good. I make a monthly donation to the Help Center. I give toys for the Toys for Tots program, I support the fish-fries that help the local clubs, and I help out my neighbors when they need help. Those are all good things and they are worthy of recognition and honor, but there is always more to be done. Because this rule like the one before it is not just something we do on occasion. It is not something we do hoping to get a checkmark or a gold start by our name on the heavenly rolls. It is a way of life. It is a way of living that permeates everything we do and everything we are. The rule of do no harm and do good should govern all the actions of our lives. It should become like second nature to us, as easy and as natural as breathing. It is like a litmus test. Every action we take, everything we do or say should be run passed these rules and if they do no harm and do good only then should we speak or act. It is not enough that our actions do no harm; they must also do good in the world.

This lifestyle is not just reactive, but proactive. In other words, it does not depend on what others do to us first. This rule is not I’ll be good to you if you are good to me first. Paul says in Romans 12 that in all cases we should do good in the world. Even when evil is done upon us, he says Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. He goes on to say, Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Our goodness does not depend on the actions of others. We should do good to all even the ones we might not like. We have a tendency to do good only to those who we like, to those who look, act, and think like us. However do good is a universal command which means that it is not based on whom we might deem worthy. We do not get to pick and choose who we do goodness to. Instead we are to do good to everyone, even to those who might do harm to us first.

Our goodness should not be limited to those who will be appreciative to that goodness. Our goodness might be rejected, ridiculed, and misused. One of the biggest reasons why people refuse to give money to the homeless is because they think that the homeless person will take the money and buy booze or drugs with it. But this rule does not take it into account. Our goodness is still good in God’s eyes even if it is misused by those who receive our goodness. We know that our goodness is a sacrifice to God that is pleasing even if it is misused or rejected.
Our desire to do good should not be limited to the thoughts and actions of others. Our goodness is not a response to the world, but a response to the grace of God that we have received. God has done and continues to do such great things for us. We cannot hope to count the blessings we receive because there are has numerous as the stars. We respond to God’s love and blessings by loving and blessing others.
Now we come to the nuts and bolts of this second rule. How do we live out this rule? First remember that it is not just about money. Although the church and other benevolent organizations need our donations of money, doing good is not limited to our financial resources. These are just a few ways of doing good that are free or only cost a little bit. One is smile. We have lost the art of smiling. We aren’t friendly to the people we meet on the street. We aren’t as friendly to the people who wait on us in restaurants or in stores. I don’t know if we are in too much of a hurry or what. You would be amazed at how people react to you when we offer them a smile and a kind word first.

Another way to do good is to offer a random act of kindness. You can do something nice for someone you don’t know. Do it everyday. Send a card to some random name in the phone book telling that person you are praying for them and that no matter what God loves them. I heard an idea a few months ago about a lady who was in line at the drive thru at McDonald’s and she paid for the two people behind her. She didn’t want praise or a thank you; she did it to be good to someone else. When someone asks you how they can repay you for your kindness tell them to pay it forward and do something for someone else.

Another way we can live the do good lifestyle is to offer forgiveness to those who do us wrong. We should not hold on to grudges or hold past sins over the heads of others. This only widens divisions between people. You might have been hurt by someone and it might take time but we should always offer forgiveness after time. Only then can we truly heal our wounds. Vengeance is not our reward, but it is God’s justice. That means that God does not get even with people, but God does exact divine justice with grace. We should not repay evil with evil that only throws gas on the fire. Instead offer goodness to those who do evil to us and then maybe those people would change and see God’s love and mercy in you. These are just a few examples of how we can live the do good lifestyle.

Now we come to the so what question. Why is living this lifestyle important? In addition to the reasons we talked about last week, the fact that it is world changing and that it brings us to a closer walk with God, living out these rules gives us a deeper understanding of God and Christ. Our faith deepens when we think and act more like Christ. When we offer sacrifice and forgiveness and goodness then we begin to understand what God did for us on the cross and what God continues to do for us everyday.

Another reason is that when we exude positivity then positive things happen to us and the same is true when we act negatively. Some of you might have heard of the Hindu/Buddhist concept of karma. A very basic understanding of karma is what goes around comes around. What we do comes back to us. I don’t know how true that is, but I do know that the world is much easier to live in when we are positive people doing good things.

These rules change not only how we live, but also why we live. When we follow these rules we begin to live for God instead of ourselves. We respond to God’s love with love of our own. Like the first rule, we might not complete the journey in this lifetime, but it does not mean that we should not start the journey. Let us start that journey together today. Let us not just do no harm, but let us do good in the world.

Let us pray…
Grant, O Lord,
that what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,
and that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.