WWJD By Dr. Richard Youngblood
Question: Should we keep track of our good deeds? What would Jesus do?
The philosophy of self-promotion and entitlement
because “you deserve it” has been popularized by some television advertising
and so-called “reality” shows. “You have
to look out for yourself,” some people declare, “if you don’t, no one else
will.” Among other things, this seems to
imply that you will need to keep up with everything good you do and be sure
everyone around you knows about it. This
way you will get credit for what has been done and not someone else. Such an approach to life may appear to have
some advantages, but it is diametrically opposed to what Jesus taught his
followers.
Instead, Jesus taught that our good deeds are to be
seen as a means to “praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). In the Sermon on the Mount he said that acts
of righteousness like giving to the poor, praying and fasting are not to be
done in order to be seen by men (Matthew 6:1ff). Instead, he said: “When you
give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what
your right hand is doing” (Matthew
6:3). This principle suggests that you should do these good deeds without thought of keeping
track of what you are doing. In the
parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus quoted the righteous as saying: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and
feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?” (Matthew 25:37). They certainly had no record of their good
deeds.
We do
not need to keep track of our good deeds because of the human tendency toward
boastful pride. One of the Lord’s
apostles wrote: “For everything in the world-- the cravings of sinful man, the
lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-- comes not from the
Father but from the world” (1 John
2:16). Therefore, we are told: “It
is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God--
not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). As the apostle
Paul wrote: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).
While he was on earth, Jesus went around “doing good
and healing all who were under the power of the devil” (Acts 10:38). His followers have been called upon “to be
rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share” (1 Timothy
6:18). Believers are also told that
Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to
purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good”
(Titus 2:14).
Jesus wants us to do our good deeds for the benefit
of others and the praise of God, not for any personal advantage. They should be a natural expression of our
generous spirit and love for others. The
Lord knows about our good deeds, but we can never do enough to make up for what
he has done for us. That is the reason
our salvation is a gift of his grace and not based on our goodness. We have no reason to keep track of our good
deeds. Therefore, as the wise man said: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else,
and not your own lips” (Proverbs 27:2).
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