9 Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up. 10 So then, let’s work for the good of all whenever we have an opportunity, and especially for those in the household of faith.
Reflection
Once or twice in my life, I have been accused of being a “goody two-shoes.” While I know what this name means, yesterday I was curious as to how this literary reference came into being. So I googled it. The origins of this idiom are a little uncertain, but it’s believed to refer in part to an eighteenth century tale about a virtuous, orphaned girl with only one shoe. When a rich contributor buys the girl a second shoe, now she goes around excitedly announcing that she has “two shoes!” Later, as a grown woman, she will triumph to become a wife and teacher, which it suggests explains the value of her virtuousness.
The story is a fairy-tale. Our good efforts are not always repaid with reward or by gratitude. Yet, should we stop doing good? Do we tire of our good efforts? Do we say what about me or who has my back? No, we do good anyway.
Doing good is part and parcel of what makes us Methodist. The most famous quote attributed to John Wesley is: “Do all the good you can, by all the means that you can… as long as you ever can.” So we keep doing good because it defines us. Sounds like John was a goody two-shoes, too.
We do good because we are Christians! We do good to continue to live into the calling of our Creator, who does good things for us. God shares God’s goodness out of love, so we in turn share goodness in God’s name. Being branded as a “Goody two-shoes” may be an old-fashioned term, yet doing good never goes out of style! In style or not, along the way doing good makes a difference – if not to those around us, then to our Lord. So (whether in two shoes or one) keep doing good anyway!
by Barbara Carlson
For Pondering & Prayer
Are you a goody two-shoes? Or have you let the ways of the world, or what others have said, affect your efforts to do good? What do you hear or feel God saying about your efforts?
Prayer: Good God, thank you for all the goodness that you have shared with me. Let me in turn share your goodness in all the ways that I can. Amen.
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