Isaac Newton first published his 3 physical laws in 1687 in his book, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) At only 43 years old, his three laws, together, laid the foundation for classical mechanics and motion. (crazy overachievers…) His first law states, “In an inertial frame of reference, an object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by a force.” His second law states, “In an inertial frame of reference, the vector sum of the forces F on an object is equal to the mass m of that object multiplied by the acceleration a of the object: F = ma.” And his third law states, “When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body.” (crazy smart people...) Let’s focus on the third law. And while we’re at it, let’s paraphrase it for our simple purposes, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” What I love about Newton’s third law is it’s genius stretches far beyond the mere physical realm. It stretches into the emotional and yes even the spiritual realm. And Newton just thought he was doing science stuff.
Question. When was the last time you truly did good for someone and expected absolutely nothing in return? (Hopefully, you won’t have to think too hard) I’m talking about doing good that cost you. It either cost you effort, time, money or convenience. I’m talking about you really putting forth effort and sacrificing to do good for someone else. And the key here is that you honestly, in your heart, expected zero in return. Not gratitude, not a pat on the back, not recognition, not another favor in return and no, not even a simple thank you. Maybe you even did said thing in private, not allowing the other party to know what your good intending hands were up to. As you recall this scenario, think about how it felt. That warmth as it radiated deep down in your inner being. The joy it created as your heart seemed to leap an extra beat in your chest. The feeling of freedom and satisfaction you felt the next day. A feeling that seemed to scream to you ‘do it again!’ Folks, as you selflessly do good for others, what you are feeling is what you were made to do. You were made to love, care for, and do good for others. And when we operate in our purpose, we will experience the vast goodness of God. In an equal reaction to your action, you’re getting repaid.
But there will be times in your life where it is completely appropriate to either thank someone for their good towards you, or others will thank you for the good you have showed towards them. There is nothing at all wrong with being filled with gratitude and properly receiving gratitude, you just need to be very careful that this is not your ultimate motivation for doing good. God will truly repay goodness, while we in our sin nature can seek out praises for the fulfillment of our own pride and ego. Or on the flip side, we can get into the habit of dishing out empty praise, thank yous, and flattery. Empty hollow words that hold no truth. As you attempt to dodge these two, you will see that there is truly an art to showing gratitude to others and receiving gratitude from others. And surprise, they both involve giving and receiving it with Godly wisdom.
2 Samuel chapter 2 opens up with David still processing the death of Saul and his lifelong friend and confidante, Jonathan. David asks the Lord if he should go back to Israel. The Lord offers a simple yes. David asks a clarifying question, where exactly? The Lord replies with Hebron. This is a great side point; we can learn much of how David converses in prayer with the Lord. He is comfortable enough to ask repeatedly and specifically of the Lord. Model this in your prayer life. God may not give you all the info you need at first, continue to petition Him, talk to Him and seek Him. It may be much farther down the road that you finally ask the specific question of Him that He is truly looking for.
As David arrives in Hebron, he learns of what has happened to the bodies of Saul and Jonathan. The Philistines mocked the lives of Saul and his sons as they mocked their corpses. One of the greatest disrespects that could be issued upon a life in this era was to disrespect their body in death. And the Philistines had done just that. They beheaded Saul, stripped his royal armor, and displayed he and his sons dead bodies in the temple of the false god Ashtaroth. But as the word came to the Jews in the nearby Israelite town of Jabesh-Gilead, they designed a daring raid to rescue the bodies of their fallen king and his three sons. They risked their lives to see the right thing done. They infiltrated hostile enemy territory to see a great evil corrected. They left their families and knowingly entered peril, to see righteousness be the victor. And they did it all not expecting anything in return. They did it simply because it was right, and it was good.
As David hears of this act, he is truly touched. And out of his heart flows a great gratitude for those that have simply done good no matter the cost to themselves.
“When they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-Gilead who buried Saul,” David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-Gilead and said to them, “May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing.” 2 Samuel 2:4b-6
Did you see it? Newton’s third “spiritual law?” David says, I will do good to you because you have done good. You see this is where Newton’s third law moves from the mere physical world into the spiritual realm. When you truly do good for someone out of the depths of your heart, it causes a reaction. It causes a spring of goodness to gush forth into places where it previously was void. Doing good causes feelings to erupt within us that were lying dormant. Having someone treat us with kindness and honor as they serve us causes us to transform, to metamorphosize into a different creature. You see, as we do Godly good, we infect those on the receiving end. They are changed by a heart of God doing the work of God. And as we also receive those actions from others, we as well are transfigured. As we feel the love of God showered upon us from another, our hearts become like the hearts that touched us. Folks, as you move out into this world and serve others with the heart of God, it will cause an equal reaction. As you allow your hands to do the work of God, blessing others and expecting nothing in return, the world will be changed one reaction at time. Good hearts awakening good hearts.
But as far as the blessing for doing good? Never fear, another miraculous part of the reaction is that God Himself will do the blessing. He will bless you in ways that you could never imagine. And as God changes hearts to, in turn, bless others, the effect will ripple. It will ripple throughout a world that so desperately needs good.
Today, commit to bless someone that God has put on your mind. It will cost you...maybe time, maybe effort, maybe money. It may be inconvenient, it may be hard, you might even have to break a sweat. But folks, all true ministry to the Lord will cost you something. But it is in the high cost of serving God, that the true blessings will flow.
Today, seek to bless others before you seek to be blessed.
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