Suffering for Doing Good
READ: I Peter 3:15-22
It was a cold fall day and Jason, a junior in high school, noticed, on the way home from school, an elderly lady raking leaves by herself. Now, Jason, being the kind person he is, asked her if she needed any help. Not to his surprise, she did. So, he decided to rake the leaves for her. Now, two of Jason’s friends take the same route home every night. When they noticed Jason, they started laughing and making fun of him. For the rest of the week at school, Jason was ridiculed and humiliated in front of his class mates.
Has this ever happened to you? I’m sure it has. Now, we all know that Jason did the right thing by helping the elderly lady, but some of us may not have done the same, thinking that ridicule and humiliation are too much to suffer with, just to make an “old lady” happy. You’re wrong. God says, through Peter, in I Peter 3:17, “t is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good, than for doing evil.” God also says in verse 16 of the same chapter, “…keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” So, obviously, God wants us to continue doing good, even if it means suffering for it.
We know that “In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.” Even if we have to suffer a little bit for helping an “old lady,” it should not keep us from doing good, because the suffering we endure on earth is not worth comparing to the joy we will have in heaven.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: Why should we continue to do good, even if we suffer for it? What does God say about suffering for doing good?
PRAYER SUGGESTIONS: Pray to God for strength to do what is good, instead of saying no because you might be made fun of. Pray to God and ask Him to give others the strength to not make fun of people who do good, and to do good themselves out of love for God.