As a Christian activist, I meet people in need all the time. At the end of the day, the hardest part is after listening and solving people’s problems, I have no energy left to solve my own. Many times, coming home means instantly shutting down--unable to care for those closest to me.
The scary part is that I am often unaware of how fast my lamp was burning. Most times, my lamp is already huffed out and burnet out when I realize that I actually need a fresh infilling. My giving became a drudgery, not a delight. The call of doing good, simply becomes a burden, devoid of love.
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It was a Sunday. I was expected to be at Church to welcome a friend coming for the first time. The moment I saw Husi, I grinned widely. His coming was long-awaited; He came to church after meeting me at my NGO’s healthcare day.
Post church, as soon as we sat down for coffee, Husi poured the weight of his WHOLE world to me. His eyes glistened passionately as he shared. I knew how important it was for him, but in my tiredness, I treated him as another "social consultation session”. Poor guy! His biggest smile was met by my blank stares and snappy words. I ended the meeting abruptly, lying I had to be elsewhere. I was in no rush, but I just didn’t have the energy to listen to him nor to sympathize with him.
My friend Andrew, observing what was going on, though he didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to. I knew I was being unkind. That night, I was apologetic. “Why was I so snappy?” I talked as if God was in the passenger seat. In my justification, I reasoned, “Isn’t Sundays supposed to be a time when you let ME rest!?” I complained to God for what was my lack of discipline of Sabbath rest.
Then, the Holy Spirit brought to mind what happened last Thursday at my Bible Study. I received a text from a colleague. It read “Can you help me? Someone has been abused.” Instantly I left the Bible Study and all I remembered was that I was so heartbroken. Not realizing that because of that my tank was leaking. No wonder my tank was so empty on Sunday.
It wasn’t the lashing out that was the sin. The lashing out only gave way to what was happening inside of me. This was the danger of doing good...
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You see, we can do good works on autopilot mode. It is easy to separate the act of loving with loving itself. It’s easy to make work our idol---weaning our dependency from God. Our activism may blind us from our own need of the Gospel-- either we turn to our own strength to replace the need for the Savior, or we begin to be unfaithful in our stewardship. Giving might be a mask of serving God, when actually it is a means of self-glorification.
But Samuel reminds us,
“What is more pleasing to the LORD:? Your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. - 1 Samuel 15:22
More than our hands, God desires our hearts. Doing JUST good is a good gift, but a terrible God. If we’re not careful, we can be the Pharisees Jesus spoke to in Matthew 23:26,
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”
Gleaning lessons from Jesus’s words, here are 3 ways to avoid the spiritual danger of doing good:
1. Abide in the Vine
Just like the branch cannot bear fruit without being connected to the vine (John 15:4-6), We cannot witness what we do not have. Jesus said “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you...I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in Him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.” Jesus’ compassion is from the beginning, the means, and the end because He rested through abiding in the Father.
2. Rest in His Sovereignty
Understanding the Creator-Creature distinction helps put perspective on the limitations of being humans. Unlike how the world encourages endless hustling, a character of a Christian activist is to be restful! We CAN work restfully. “Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:1–2).
John Piper says, “The spiritual leader knows that ultimately the productivity of his labors rests in God and that God can do more while he is asleep than he could do while awake without God”. He knows what Jesus said to his busy disciples, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31). He is not so addicted to work that he is unable to rest. He is a good steward of his life and health. He maximizes the totality of his labor by measuring the possible strains under which he can work without diminishing his efficiency of unduly shortening his life.
3. Commune with His People
The writer of Hebrews encouraged us (10:24-26), “And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Encourage, meaning to give courage, is the duty and delight of a community. As fellow redeemed sinners in the body of Christ, we are free to be vulnerable and be built up to grow towards the Head Christ Jesus Himself.
So we pray,
Father in Heaven, lover of the broken and hurting, keep us abiding in You. Thank you for creating me with a high purpose in my life. Move our hearts to consider how we might share Your love tangibly with so many around the world. Give us the power and wisdom to love, as we draw upon the deep well of Your compassion. Enable us to trust in Your Sovereignty over the good works you have given us to do. Jesus be so central that we realize the work comes from you, by you, and for you alone.
May justice roll down like a river and righteousness like a never-failing stream,
Tamara Wu
Tamara Wu writes and speaks on self-love, social justice, and theology. Currently, her work immerses her deep in the startup world; she runs Simona APAC Women Founders accelerator program, a non-profit called Second Chance Initiative, and an ethical fashion social enterprise called Liberty Society. When off work, she thrives on catch-ups over coffees, AM breakfasts after a HIIT workout, or a sunny day at the beach.