We know all too well what are the wrong things in our lives. We know we shouldn’t do it. We know we must root it out, because it certainly doesn’t make the world a better place. We know it is a sin and not good at all in God’s eyes.

When we give our hearts to God, when we confess our sins and accept Jesus as our Saviour, the blinkers are taken off our eyes. Soon we begin to see the wrong things in our lives and learn what God wants.

Then we learn what sin is. Many times, it’s a long list. We get uncomfortable with it and start working hard to get rid of the wrong things in our lives. These things we do now scream loudly against what we look like as a child of God.

However, things keep being added to this list of sins. The list gets longer when we know what is the right thing to do and we don’t do it. ¹⁷In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.

Each of us received gifts. Gifts are those things that you do easily. Those things that give you energy. Those things that make a difference in other people’s lives. Gifts turn the world around and make it a better place for everyone.

Suppose you hide your gifts under a measuring bucket. If you do not take out the gifts you have received, dust them off, and let them develop and take root in the world, it is a sin in the eyes of the Creator.

I often wonder how many people are lost because we Christians just don’t do what we were put on earth to do. Maybe we should’ve said something somewhere but kept our mouths closed. Maybe we should’ve helped someone somewhere but were too busy or simply looked the other way.

It’s a sin to bury our gifts. When we go to bed in the evening or wake up in the middle of the night, that incident just pops up. I should’ve helped that person. I should’ve done something, but now it’s too late.

It’s your conscience waking you up. He’s the one who knows what is right and wrong. He’s the one who brings it to your busy attention that you knew what was the right thing to do and didn’t do it, because you were too busy with other things.

When we dig a little deeper into the original Greek, we see that the command goes beyond just doing the right things. ¹⁷In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.

Doing good is much more than doing right. There are so many places in each of our lives to do good. We have to find those places; they won’t be far out of our way. God wants to make a difference in all people around us. He wants to be good to them. For this, He uses ordinary people like you and me. So, let’s sin no more and do good. Let’s make this our life motto and live by it: Keep calm. Do good.

Scripture
James 4:16-17

Reflection
What things that are right are you not doing?
Where should you go to do good?
How can you go about doing that?

Prayer
Father, I know the things that are not right in my life. I also know where I have to make a difference I’m avoiding. Please give me the strength to go straight to it and make a difference in other people’s lives. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.