Why Be Good?

Why Be Good?

“There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” – Deuteronomy 15:11

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:48

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.” – Matthew 27:50

It is beyond any doubt that we as Christians are called to be generous and openhanded toward the marginalized populations of society. Is that really true? Yes, the Bible leaves no question about it, and hardly anyone would argue that Christians are called to be self-centered or stingy. But why? Why do we need to be taking care of the poor and oppressed? Why do we need to bother ourselves on Saturday morning to go out all the way to Lynn and teach English and spend time with little children? What is the fundamental reason for us to do so? At the heart of the matter, the question comes down to holiness. Why do we need to stay holy and pure as Christians? Why can we not live as we want to?
It is crystal clear that it is God’s command. But can it fully motivate us all by itself? Can we really spend significant portions of our money and time, in some cases even sacrificing our lives, for the poor, simply because it is a duty we have to perform? Can we really devote our entire lives in serving the people in slums because it is an obligation? If you could do that, you do not need God. If you possess such willpower, self-control, and such self-less and sacrificial nature, you would be able to free yourself from sin on your own simply by thinking it is God’s command. If it being God’s command is enough motivation for you, you might as well do it as if it were a social duty, not a Christian one. It is true that we live a holy life because it is God’s will, but that is not the whole picture. We are not as good as we want to think we are, and we need a more personal reason. There is something deeper than just God’s command.
The more fundamental reason for our altruism and holiness is expressed not in the first two verses above, as we usually tend to think, but in the last verse – beyond and deeper than God’s commanding us, it is rooted in the cross of Christ. What is the distance between Gordon College and the city of Lynn? It is about forty minutes away from campus. Then what is the distance between heaven and earth? Jesus abandoned the beauty, joy, and the majestic glory of heaven where thousands of angels serve him and bow down at His feet, and He descended to a woman’s womb. He stayed there for about ten months helplessly receiving nutrition from His earthly mother, and when He finally came to the world as a little naked child, He soon fulfilled His purpose of life – He died on the cross instead of us. It is from this marvelous and unbelievable grace that we must be motivated to do what God wants us to do. Why do we ever listen to God? Why do we ever want to please Him? Why do we want to have an intimate relationship with God? It must not be because we want to go to some kind of carefree, pleasure-filled heaven, or because we are scared to go to hell. One can start with such motives, but as mature Christians we must spiritually grow beyond such childish reasons. It is Christ’s love manifested in His crimson cross that must be the reason we live and do His will – because He loves us. Our holiness, purity, and altruism must be spontaneous and natural response to His love for us. It is this love that should make us move.