Doing Good

Doing Good: The Quote

Several of you have asked me about John Wesley’s quote on doing good because you found it inspirational, but wanted to get the exact language. Here is the quote that is often attributed to him: "Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as you ever can." 

It appears that Wesley never used this exact language, but that it is a rephrasing of what was said in a few of his sermons (further information at quoteinvestigator.com). His exact quotes are:

“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Neither is love content with barely working no evil to our neighbour. It continually incites us to do good: as we have time, and opportunity, to do good in every possible kind, and in every possible degree to all men.” From the sermon The Law Established Through Faith in his collection Sermons on Several Occasions.

“But employ whatever God has intrusted you with, in doing good, all possible good, in every possible kind and degree, to the household of faith, to all men.” From the sermon The Use of Money in his collection Sermons on Several Occasions.

While it appears that Wesley never said the quote in its most memorable form, it is a great way to remind us of our Christian duty to doing good. We are not just to avoid doing evil, but we must be actively doing good, serving God and all humanity.

Doing Good In Our Church

The month of October in our church is a busy one for doing good. We will be finishing up collecting items for hygiene kits used for hurricane relief by the United Methodist Committee on Relief. We are also raising funds to purchase the turkeys for Redbud Area Ministries. And finally, there is Make a Difference Day on October 21^st which provides us with lots of opportunities for volunteer service in our community! Details about each of these things are available elsewhere in the newsletter. I hope that you will get involved in these things. Join us in doing all the good we can, in as many ways as we can, in our community and in our world.

Doing Good as Individuals

Also, even as I commend us as a church for our hard work together, I further encourage you to be doing good in your personal lives. Do good things for your family, for your coworkers, for your friends and neighbors. This means helping them when needed, but it also means being kind to them, respecting them, treating them with dignity, showing compassion and love. Doing good is not just serving or giving financial support it is about how we interact with them each and every day. Make this duty part of your daily life.

So, my friends, let our love for our neighbors incite us to do good, through the church, through our personal lives, in every circumstance.