A Good Deed

We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Ephesians 2:10

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:16

We often hear of the phrase “paying it forward”. The online definition refers to someone doing something for someone other than who originally helped them out, but it's often used interchangeably with "good deeds". We hear heartwarming stories of people lifting each other up and helping each other out.

One of my favorite movies, Terms of Endearment, was largely filmed in Lincoln, my current hometown. A local grocery store, Leon’s, is featured in the scene where Debra Winger cannot pay for her groceries and her banker (John Lithgow), behind her in line, volunteers to make up the difference.

In addition to the highlighted scene above, I had just read an article about someone paying for the person in front of them in the checkout line. It was fresh in my mind when my husband and I were walking out the door at our local store (the same Leon’s from the movie!) and heard the cashier say, “it says there’s not enough funds” when referring to a customer’s debit card. We were almost out the door and it looked like the woman wasn’t panicking, so we kept on our way. The following week, the same thing happened to a little boy in front of me who was using his mother’s debit card. “It says there’s not enough funds.” It was like a sign: Donna, here’s your chance! Especially since I was in a hurry myself and wanted to get home. It would speed things up if I just paid for the little boy’s groceries.

I felt pretty good about paying for someone! I was doing a good deed, helping out. The child’s mother didn’t feel the same, however. She was clearly waiting in the car for her son, and he had already called her cell phone to inform her he couldn’t pay. Then she walked in and saw that I had paid for the groceries. That I didn’t receive a warm thank you is an understatement (silver lining: the little boy did thank me, twice). Don’t expect that your good deeds will be met with a grateful heart. Maybe the lesson is: do it because God asks you to, not because you want someone to appreciate you.

Reader, I’m not sharing this so that you can appreciate my good deed when the recipient didn’t; rather, I’d just like to suggest that even when things don’t go the way we want, the way we expect, or the way we hope, there is something to learn from the experience. Especially when we are doing as we are called as Christians.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me see you in ALL areas of my life. Guide me to be your light in the world. Amen.

Donna Gustafson