Good Deeds

 

On Sunday, March 20, 2022, Alex W. Evans preached this sermon at Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA. This is a rough manuscript of “Is It True: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished?” I provide his sermon because it helps us better understand why good deeds are so important even when “punishment” results.  We live in the real world where good contends with evil, and we are in that arena.

(begin) “No good deed goes unpunished!”  Where does that line come from? It is NOT in the Bible - it is one of those familiar phrases that emerges over time, gets traction in various ways, and becomes part of what we think and say…this phrase - no good deed goes unpunished - goes well beyond doing good deeds in the church. For centuries, theologians have addressed conventional wisdom about God’s rewards and punishments. For example, the great theologian, Thomas Aquinas, in his “Summa Theologica” from the 13th century, states that “no evil deed goes unpunished, by God the just judge;” and “no good deed is unrewarded, and so every good deed merits some good.” 

This is the way we would like the world to be - reasonably ordered by God: evil gets punished, good gets rewarded. Wouldn’t that be wonderful - good people prosper, truth and integrity prevail - evil gets punished, bullies never win. But . . . as life unfolds, we learn fast that evil people can indeed prosper; aggression and destruction can take centerstage - as we see happening in Ukraine today, . . . and as we know can happen in our own lives. Good and evil, rewards and punishments do not always go so logically or smoothly. 

So, as we each deal with the evils and uncertainties of life, the seemingly predictable and hopeful statements about good and evil become more acerbic and twisted. Bad things happen to good people. Cynicism creeps in. Hence - our phrase for today - “no good deed goes unpunished.” 

And then, this idea lives and develops. We find it echoed in novels, in lines from stories - “kindness brings its own punishment,” or even politics, as “in Washington, no good deed goes unpunished.” 

One place where this phrase - no good deed goes unpunished - gains some popularity is in the famous Broadway production, “Wicked.”  Ginger and I saw “Wicked” some years ago - we even went backstage at the Gershwin Theater to meet the Wizard, played by Tom McGowan, a high school friend of our sister in-law, Becky. 

“Wicked,” you might recall, is a musical about good and evil, the back-story of the “Wizard of Oz” with a focus on the good witch and the bad witch. And there is a famous song, sung by the bad witch, entitled “no good deed.” The song includes these words - No good deed goes unpunished  -  All helpful urges should be circumvented. No good deed goes unpunished -  Sure, I meant well. Well, look at what well-meant did. “No good deed goes unpunished.” 

What we all learn and know is this: we live in a complex world - and evil is not always punished, and good is not always rewarded. Sometimes bullies seem to win and good guys, and good intentions, finish last. So, what are we to do? I think that the Psalm that we read today - Psalm 37 - offers us sincere encouragement. Don’t be annoyed by anyone who does wrong, and don’t envy them. They will soon disappear like grass without rain. Trust the Lord and live right! Do what the Lord wants, and he will give you your heart’s desire. Let the Lord lead you and trust him to help.

This psalm is another one trying to remind us, ingrain in us, that we live our lives in a certain context - under God’s care, for God’s purposes, and lots of things might happen, but we belong to God and God reigns forever over all things. 

In that context, what do we do? Well, we live with and for God. We seek to do good! We have been blessed - we seek to be a blessing. That is what we do - not worrying about punishments or outcomes, not stressing over who gets credit or acclaim. We seek to do good. 

This exhortation to do good is found in many other Scripture passages. Amos, the prophet, surrounded by so much corruption and disappointment states it so clearly - “seek good and not evil that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate, . . . and God will be gracious to you.” (Amos 5:14-15)

Jesus says, “in everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) The golden rule - it is not based on rewards and punishments, or who gets credit. It is way of living. Or as it says in Ephesians (2:10): “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand.”

We are called, over and over, to focus on the good that we can do, not worry about the outcome, the so called “punishment.” Trust God, do good, extend compassion and care; we are created for good works - not for rewards, but for God. Not to earn or prove anything, but because this is what we are called to do. 

And then what we know - and come to learn: living for God, doing good, is not all easy and wonderful. Living for God, doing good, comes with challenge; it might even include “punishment,” or some extra burden or suffering. Sometimes, our good works, our efforts to spread love and compassion might - even likely - bring us hurt and harm. 

Listen to the second lesson, from Romans 5: Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

If we look at the history of God’s people, it is not a simple story of joy and delight. It is full of heartache and loss, suffering and pain. Doing good for God, striving for justice and light in a crazy world, will lead to challenges and setbacks. So, Paul says, “we boast in our sufferings,” knowing that those sufferings get us closer to God and God’s ways. Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and then hope, and in all of this God’s love is poured into us.

James, chapter 1, says something similar: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Jesus reminds us often that his disciples will suffer many things for his sake and the gospel. Paul says he counts it all joy to suffer for Christ’s sake. Indeed, in Acts, after the disciples had been persecuted and beaten, it says they went on their way rejoicing knowing that they had been considered worthy to suffer in Christ’s name. When we endure suffering for God’s purposes in the world, we are following Jesus, who suffered and died. And we know those who suffer with him will reign with him. This theme runs throughout the New Testament: if you are not suffering for God, you may not be living with and for God.

This can be an unsettling idea for most of us. None of us like to suffer. Most of us want to avoid punishment. Few of us would take on suffering by choice. And yet Scripture tells us clearly that doing good, living and serving God, can bring us suffering and even punishment. “No good deed goes unpunished.”

But here is the truth - our job as disciples is to stay focused on the calling - not get caught up in the cost. We stay focused on doing justice, loving kindness, walking humbly with God, even as we know it just might lead us to uncomfortable situations, even pain and punishment. Loving God with heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving our neighbors as ourselves, is our sole goal; and it just might bring upon us discomfort, pain, and loss (my emphasis). This is what we are called to do.

Maybe the best examples here come from people like John Lewis and his comrades in the struggle for voting rights in the south. They had a mission, rooted in faith and justice, rooted in equality and dignity for all. They knew God was on their side walking across the bridge in Selma. They knew they had a sacred mission, dealing with racism and violence, facing prison time. But they stayed focused on the calling, . . . even getting beaten to near death. The good work of God can be dangerous, full of peril. But this is what disciples of Jesus do. 

We may not be on the front lines facing violence and peril, like Lewis and others, but we need to hear, each of us, the importance of the calling that is ours. As the psalm says: If you do what the Lord wants, he will make certain each step you take is sure. The Lord will hold your hand, and if you stumble, you still won’t fall.

We stay focused on the calling to live and serve as God’s people, not becoming cautious because of what might happen to us. Or as the Apostle Paul says: we boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

Most of us are better at measuring the costs, being cautious, and yet we are called to trust God and serve God. We are generally inclined to take better care of ourselves, and God keeps calling us to love and serve, to do justice, to promote hope for all people. Many of us are hesitant, or unsure what to do; God keeps calling us to give our lives for God’s important work in the world. We are all ministers. We are to do good, to work with God for the redeeming of the world, no matter what…(end)

Amen!

Deacon David Pierce