Don’t grow weary in doing good …

It seems today that the eyes of some tend to glaze over when a preacher urges his congregation to “do good.”

Why have some grown weary of doing good?

Doing good is an important part of our purpose for living!

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago,” Ephesians 2:10.

And so the Apostle Paul gives us these exhortations …

“Don’t be misled — you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith,” Galatians 6:7-10.

“As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good,” 2 Thessalonians 3:13.

The reason we grow weary of doing good is likely as simple as the fact that doing good comes with a cost to us — sometimes that cost is steep, but worth it.

You may have heard of the legend of Telemachus, thought to be more truth than myth, but perhaps with a little exaggeration of his immediate impact. Wayne Rice once wrote about this story of doing good that had a dramatic impact as follows …

Telemachus, a fourth-century monk who lived in a monastery, felt God calling him to Rome. He couldn’t figure out why God would want him in Rome, but he felt the pressure to go. Putting his possessions in a little satchel, he threw the bag over his shoulder and started out over the dusty, westward roads to Rome.

When he got to Rome, people were running about the city in great confusion. He had arrived on a day when the gladiators were going to fight both other gladiators and animals in the amphitheater. Everyone was heading to the amphitheater to watch the entertainment.

Telemachus thought this must be why God had called him to Rome. He walked into the amphitheater. He sat down among 80,000 people who cheered as the gladiators came out proclaiming, “‘Hail Caesar! We die to the glory of Caesar.”

The little monk thought to himself, Here we are, four centuries after Christ, in a civilized nation, and people are killing one another for the entertainment of the crowd. This isn’t Christian!

Telemachus got up out of his seat, ran down the steps, climbed over the wall, walked out to the center of the amphitheater, and stood between two large gladiators. Putting his hands up, he meekly cried out, “In the name of Christ, stop!” The crowd laughed and jeered. One of the gladiators slapped Telemachus in the stomach with his sword and sent him spinning off into the dust.

Telemachus got up and again stood between the two huge gladiators. He repeated, “In the name of Christ, stop.” This time the crowd chanted “Run him through!” One of the gladiators took his sword and ran it through Telemachus’s stomach. He fell into the dust and the sand turned red as blood ran out of him. One last time, Telemachus weakly cried out, “‘In the name of Christ, stop.” He died on the amphitheater floor.

The crowd grew silent, and within minutes they emptied out of the amphitheater. History records that, thanks to Telemachus, this was the last gladiatorial contest in the history of the Roman Empire.

Telemachus changed the course of history. So can you. God loves to use one person to make a big difference in the world — and God wants to use you.

One version of the story states the monk was stoned to death by spectators who were furious over his interference, and some claim the games continued just a little longer, but there seems to be evidence that Telemachus’ plea to stop, and the pouring out of his life to make such a plea, was the key that brought these brutal games of death to an end.

One man made a huge difference, one man did a lot of good, but the cost to him was high.

God still uses individuals to do a lot of good. If we’re honest, often how God uses us to do good is barely a cost, more perhaps an “inconvenience” at the most. For some, what God would have them do would be costly. But cost isn’t the issue, what is the issue is knowing that God has a plan for how we can do good for others which will also bring glory to Him, and that will make a real difference in lives — if only we’re as obedient as Telemachus.

But we have to not grow weary in doing good, and remember that we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus for just such service to others. As the apostle wrote, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”

Don’t give up!

Scotty