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

‍

My oldest is now old enough to babysit. I have found that a mature teen in my home is a game changer for a mom who has spent years strategically planning outings around my spouse’s schedule, sparingly hiring babysitters, or calling on certain friends for assistance. A few years ago, I first began leaving her home alone for a short period of time. As she proved herself trustworthy, I’d leave her with just one sister to “watch,” then two. Now all four kids stay home much of the time, by choice, when I have errands to run. As lovely as this freedom is for me, I still have a verbal checklist I review with her before I leave. Every item I touch on are things she already knows, but I review it for my own peace of mind. In no particular order, I may say things like: “Please do not use the stove. Don’t light any candles. Do not answer the door. Keep the home phone nearby so I can check in. You have the neighbor’s number, and they are home if you need anything. Make sure you exercise extra patience and kindness with your sisters; no one likes a bossy sister. Be good!” etc. Reviewing these items verbally helps me feel pardoned if something were to go wrong.  

‍

As we wrap up our series “The Drift” and our study through Hebrews, it seems the author is giving us our verbal checklist as he is on his way out the door. It seems he’s making sure he says all the things that are popping in his mind, in whatever random order they come out. As if, maybe if he has said it all, he can have peace of mind in leaving. This running checklist is rich and extensive, somewhat of a succinct “how-to” guide for Christians. We read reminders like: Love one another, show hospitality, remember the imprisoned, honor marriage, be content, don’t love money, remember your spiritual leaders, hold fast to those teachings, remember who Jesus is and why He is your Savior. All of these seem like separate subjects until verse 16. It says not to neglect to do good and share what you have. This seems like a “too basic” version of all that is said before, like my “Be good” tagged on to the end of the random verbal checklist when I leave my kids. Why would the author say all these specific things and then follow it up with the generic, “be good,” or rather “do good”? It also begs the question: does the audience know what good means? Do we even have the capacity to “do good”? If the list before verse 16 is the “good” we are to do, we may not.  

‍

The last part of verse 16 says that such sacrifices are pleasing to the Lord. The word “sacrifices” stands out to me here. This implies several things: that loving one another may not be neat and tidy, that showing hospitality may take some time and resources, making time to remember the imprisoned may take effort, marriage may not always be easy and temptation may lurk, contentment may not come naturally, loving money may come too naturally, forgetting the origins of your faith might be easy to do, forgetting Jesus, who saves you, might come more easily than remembering Him, somehow.  That is not encouraging, right?

‍

There is a part of this verse I skipped that I think answers any discouragement you may feel. The middle part of verse 16 says, “share what you have.” What is it that we have? This is not a trick question. If we have Jesus, we are to share Him! We read in Galatians 5 that the fruit of the Spirit of God includes goodness. This list is just what His goodness might look like. So, with God’s love in us, we can love one another. With the resources He has provided, we can show hospitality. With God’s heart for the broken or hurting, remembering them takes less effort. With God’s track record for a covenant relationship, honoring your marriage is a desire of your heart, too. Knowing that all God has is yours, it is hard to be discontent, and money becomes a man-made, cheap version of all God owns. Gratefulness for Jesus stirs a thankfulness for all who taught you about Him. In other words, something being difficult and also pleasing to God can both simultaneously be true. Yet, as with most things in God’s Kingdom, much depends on the posture of our hearts. Drifting can happen in myriad ways. One way can be forgetting where our goodness comes from. We can honor God simply by remembering that without His goodness, we don’t have the capacity to “do good” consistently.

Is God’s goodness in you? How are you sharing what you have? Are you wearing yourself out trying to “do good” without relying on His goodness? I pray that we will be reminded of God’s goodness to us and in us so that we may be refreshed and have a renewed motivation to share that goodness with others.  

‍

Lord, thank you for your goodness. We are so grateful Your spirit in us is good. Help us to be mindful of the good You have blessed us with so that we may share it with one another. Help us to not get bogged down by the list of how to do good but to know that You are goodness and You live in us! Let us have the desire to “be good.” Amen.