Do Gooders

Some believe that all Christians need to do is believe the right things, and God sits in Heaven with a big grin on His face ’cause He’s so pleased. That’s a convenient theology, unfortunately it’s crap. Others believe that all churches need to do is preach the gospel, and we’ve been faithful to God. Again, convenient and, again, crap.

Yes, we need to believe and teach the right things, but we also need to do good, a fact we’re reminded of three times in today’s reading (Titus 3). Our lives should look very different from those in our neighborhoods, and at work, and in our schools. They should not just be a slightly more moral version of everyone else’s lives. We should do so much good that people keep asking questions, “Why do you do this?” “I’ve never met anyone like you, what’s the meaning of this?”

And our communities should look very different because of the life of our churches. Our churches should not just be places where right teaching is offered and people can get saved, but also where people gather who have “devoted themselves to doing good” and are always “ready to do whatever is good” and therefore leave, disperse, and make a positive impact wherever they go. We should do so much good that it leaves people saying, “Thank God for that church.” “What might this community be like without them?” “I may not believe what they believe, but there’s obviously something to their belief, and we just need to make sure they never leave.”