The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good
Confessions of a Do-GooderHere I was, on the front lines, personally handing out blankets and helping families that had lost almost everything. Noble cause. Noble mission. Noble actions of a twenty-five-year-old relief worker. A photographer snapped pictures, and I smiled wide for the camera as I did "God's work."And the thought running through my head was not about the people receiving the blankets.I thought,I can't wait until the people back home see these photos of me.When I saw the photos a few weeks later, I trashed them. With a flaky smile plastered on my face, I could only see the photos as incriminating evidence of an unhealthy heart condition. Captured on film, I recognized myself as playacting for people far away, not thinking about loving the people in front of me.I had just discovered that there are spiritual dangers to doing good.