When the Bad Cancels the Good

It doesn't take long.

I can go along doing good deeds.  Being thoughtful. Trying my best to help others

Then BOOM!

I do or say one thing that cancels any good I did. Then I feel awful. And alone in the boat. 

I'm certain you've felt that way at times too, so I'm relieved I'm not in this canoe by myself. You know the one I'm talking about? The ship that takes you out to a stormy sea by way of bad deeds?

It happens to most of us. Well, not hubby. He's a good, kind and patient man.  Not me. 

Not the people I saw this weekend. That  group won the weekly crown for ungodly behavior. I wonder which one or ones of us will earn it this next week?

I'm not to judge. I know. I hear you saying that. I'm not judging, but I'm fruit inspecting. 

This pictured banana was good before it turned bad. People can do the same. Like a banana. Overnight.

Noble people can do dastardly deeds. Sometimes it's only one that goes off the expected path and acts weird. Other times, it's a group.  It can be debated if the conspiring team this past weekend had good intentions or not. They thought they did.

One bad deed canceled out all the good, at least to my way of thinking. And they'd done a mountain of good. Indescribable kindnesses. Amazing acts of generosity. Heaps of volunteered time. In one stroke, they helped one and hurt others. Was it worth it? I suppose it was to them. Only God knows the answer to that question. In my opinion, it was a blunder. A situation handled poorly. 

We all can goof. Each one of us is capable of revoking any virtue we've done. Scary, right?

A bad deed, intentional or unintentional has consequences. Here and in the life to follow.  I'll get to heaven because of the Cross, not my works. Thank the Lord. 

Now here's the thing. Any rewards I might have earned in this life may be terminated when the scale tips in favor of the negative actions I've generated below. God can terminate blessings here in the present, or He can say, "Sorry, you're here with Me now, but all the good stuff you did below is cancelled for rewards in my heaven. You blundered with a few bad actions down there."

I could defend myself and say, "But in that incident You're talking about, I didn't sin. I didn't break a Commandment."

And then I might hear, "Yes, but you hurt innocent people with faulty decisions."

Ouch!

So where's the lesson in this? I'm talking about the one bad deed canceling the good thingy.

Lesson number one:  Think carefully.  

Don't say, "I've prayed about this and feel it's the best." Baloney. God gets accused for actions He didn't authorize. If you want out of a situation, find alternative ways to bring it about without hurting the innocent.

Lesson number two:  Bad actions can annul good deeds.

People in the Bible found this to be true. So do we contemporary people.  

The verse in my header is from Colossians 3:17.  It reads:

Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through Him.

Oops! I sometimes forget to do my deeds in the name of the Lord Jesus. How about you? And if I do something, I better make sure it's what He wants.