‘Good’: Its’ Surrounding Issues and Rewards!
Ingratitude closes the door against more good things.
Author: David Oletu
To have peace of mind, you must free your mind of malice, jealousy, anger, envy, strife, etc.
Peace of mind is one of the best rewards we can ever get as humans.
Fortunately, we are in the best position to give ourselves peace.
Once your hand is clean, your mind will be at peace.
And, once your mind is at peace with yourself and others, your ways will be smooth through God’s helping grace.
‘Good’: Its’ Surrounding Issues and Rewards!
This subject holds significant value to society because, for society to flourish, it needs more good people and action.
In a nation full of evil, there will always be disaster, chaos, confusion, an increase in vices, and other related issues.
However, in a nation full of goodness, there will be a reduction of every evil that exists.
Often, I ask myself:
“Why is evil projected more than good?”
“And Why are people always eager to share bad news faster than good news?”
“Why do good things and people attract more enemies?”
Are you also aware that things you may consider bad are things other people consider good and normal, owing to their circumstances, norms, or people around them?
Aren’t these problems bothersome?
It may not be possible to completely eradicate evil in the world,
but it is pertinent to know that God is interested in seeing good things happen.
When Jesus was on Earth, He went around doing good, and now, He is interested in seeing us replicate His ways and spread His good news and will to every nation.
‘Good’: Its’ Surrounding Issues and Rewards!
First, let us define what ‘Good’ means:
Some people and dictionaries define good as an action or behaviour that is morally right.
And Some people also define ‘good’ as something that makes us happy.
The above definitions are incomplete and may be quite misleading because for something to be morally right, it means it is culturally acceptable to a particular society.
But what if such an acceptable norm affects others negatively or does not please God?
Do we term it “good?’
Also, anything, which may not be necessarily good, can make us happy; some people derive pleasure from doing evil.
It is therefore safe to define ‘good’ as an act or behaviour that doesn’t harm or affect you or others negatively.
In Christendom, it is an act or behaviour that pleases God.
The last time I checked, whatever pleases God has nothing in common with evil or darkness. So, let us be guided in our ways.
If what you do harms or affects others negatively, then it is bad.
No amount of excuses you make to justify it will make it appear good and acceptable.
Having defined what ‘good’ means, let us carefully examine some issues that come with good things,
how to deal with those issues, and the rewards that follow good things.
Issues Surrounding ‘Good:’
- Discomfort: There is this popular saying: “Good things don’t come easily.”
As hard as it is to accept such a reality, that quote appears very true. You cannot strive to be very good in all you do to add value to yourself and others without experiencing discomfort.
Sacrifice comes with paying a price. We labour in the place of preparation. Nothing can substitute hard work, and there is no shortcut to success.
It appears that many people today want to do great things but are still in their comfort zone.
They do not want to put in extra effort to get there. That is not how life works.
There were times in my life as a social architect when I could sacrifice my last penny as a student to help myself and other people grow.
Was that in any way comforting?
No, it wasn’t.
But it eventually paid off for me in multiple ways:
through my good cause, I have built a good reputation for myself and earned good rewards and recommendations.
‘Good’: Its’ Surrounding Issues and Rewards!
There was also a time in my life as a student when I could spend sleepless nights trying to improve my creative abilities.
Despite my devastating health challenges, I was unrelenting until I got to the point of mastering my craft.
I am still growing, as there is never an end to learning.
However, I can boldly say that with the sacrifice I have made and am still making, I can now make good use of my craft with ease.
The act of doing good things or becoming good at what you do is neither sweet nor comforting, but it pays.
Even if you were born with a silver spoon,
you will struggle to grow in being good at what you do for yourself or others if you do not develop certain inherent core skills that will help you grow and overcome some challenges.
Therefore, you must be ready to step out of your comfort zone, whether you are rich or poor, to become very good at what you do, to do good things, and to also attract good things.
‘Good’: Its’ Surrounding Issues and Rewards!
- Ingratitude: Speaking of doing good things, as raised in my earlier point, many people feel discomfort doing good things because of ingratitude.
Ingratitude is another issue that surrounds ‘good.’
Many people today get discouraged from extending ‘goodness’ because of people’s ingratitude towards their good works.
For instance, workers may get discouraged from being good at their workplace when they don’t get appreciated for their job well done.
Likewise, some people who do charitable work may also get discouraged from continuing with it if people who receive it don’t appreciate their kindness.
Would we blame them for feeling discouraged or changing their good ways? No!
Would we call them selfish for not helping people anymore, due to their experience with ungrateful people? No!
Despite how good I was as a social architect who could sacrifice his time and resources to help other people grow, I still faced people who were ungrateful,
and they expressed their ingratitude in a very harsh manner.
Ideally, as a human being, I should feel hurt by such manners,
and I could have decided not to continue with my good cause, and no one would blame me, except that it will only affect those who are genuinely grateful.
I simply continued better out of love and consideration for others who are grateful.
However, as much as good people wouldn’t love to turn bad because of the bad energy or circumstances that surround them,
people generally also need to imbibe the culture of appreciating a good cause,
and not create unnecessary enmity, jealousy, strife, envy, or some toxic entitlement mentality towards a good cause.
So, it is a two-way thing: humans need to be humane to each other to help each other do better.
Ingratitude closes the door against more good things. It is a bad act that has really affected the existence of ‘good’ in society.
‘Good’: Its’ Surrounding Issues and Rewards!
- Impatience: We have established the fact that ‘good things don’t come easily’.
But, in our world today, what do we have?
Many people lose their good minds and morals in the process of waiting for good results,
and because of their impatience, they resort to acts that could either cause them or others pain.
For instance, Kallas and Kafat are friends from a good moral background, who graduated from college with very good grades,
Three months after graduation, they were unable to secure a good job for themselves, so they became subject to hardship.
Due to hardship, they felt so frustrated and angry; their minds became a battleground where the devil came in,to poison with all sorts of evil thoughts.
And, since they could not fight those evil thoughts, they dropped their good morals and joined hands to start committing crimes that inflict pain on others.
When Kallas and Kafat were eventually caught and arrested for their crimes, they were asked why they chose to inflict pain on others to survive,
and their only response was that there was no employment.
Do you think Kallas and Kafat could have done better at resolving their issues without causing harm to others or themselves?
Even if the regular saying “the patient dog eats the fattest bone” is no longer applicable in many realities of life today,
I think Kallas and Kafat’s impatience should have been channelled to adding extra efforts to the place of learning and hard work for positive growth and results,
and not to crimes that not only inflict pain on others but also paint the good reputation of other people in their society bad.
For instance, when the good people in Kallas and Kafat’s society want to spread their wings to other societies to progress in life,
those good people may likely be seen as the way the bad people in their society have painted them to others outside.
There will be this sort of generalisation that since Kallas and Kafat are terrors to their society and society at large, there is a likelihood that others around them have the same attributes as them.
Impatience is a negative trait that can chase ‘good’ away from our minds.
I believe that even in our ‘impatience’, we can approach life challenges better in ways that every one of us will be safe and successful together.
This is a fight, and we must win.
Having looked at the three critical issues that surround ‘good,’ how then do we deal with those issues?
- Feed Your Minds with Good Supplements: The human mind generally contains both the good and the bad.
So, it is not surprising to see people do bad things while others do good.
The mind is a battleground that initiates all manner of conflicts. If you can’t fight it, you won’t grow.
Therefore, one way to fight evil is to feed our minds with good supplements.
And the best supplement to feed our minds with daily is the word of God,
which is ‘profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works’ (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
- Surround Yourself with Good People: One way to ruin your thoughts is to surround yourself with bad and toxic people.
Remember, bad company ruins good morals.
Show me your friends, and I will tell you who you are or who you are likely to become. Your kind of association has a way of affecting your mentality if proper care is not taken.
Do you think you are strong enough to handle toxic friends?
Imagine you are in a helpless situation, and you need someone to advise you to boost your morale.
Then one of your toxic friends walks in to advise you wrongly.
Do you think you will have the right senses to think through your toxic friend’s advice when you need a very urgent response or attention?
Don’t be deceived; he who walks with the wise will be wise, and he who walks with the foolish will be foolish.
Good people exist around you. Know those around you to esteem and listen to more.
Many of us either forsake or chase good people away from our lives due to either our ego or ignorance, and that’s how we lose.
For a clearer picture of how we lose good people, I’d recommend you read my recent story titled “We Forsake Our True Love and Peace.”
We Forsake Our True Love and Peace! – Diademng (thediademng.org)
- Keep Your Eye on the Ball: Do not lose focus! Remember, good things don’t come easily, and when you lose focus, you can lose it completely.
While some people may say it is okay to fail, our goal should always be to win. When we fall, we should rise towards redeeming the lost times.
There is nothing as beautiful as starting a good cause, continuing with it better, and finishing well.
It is one thing to start, and it is another thing to finish; we shouldn’t be people who start a good cause and stop halfway due to distractions.
We should see it to a glorious and remarkable end.
You may also ask: Are there rewards for ‘good things?’
Yes, there are rewards!
Good things will give you:
- Peace: When you do good things, maintain a good attitude, see the good in others, and expect good things, your mind will be at ease.
And a peaceful mind won’t give room for evil distractions. Peace keeps you going in the course of doing good things and aiming for good things.
To have peace of mind, you must free your mind of malice, jealousy, anger, envy, strife, etc. Peace of mind is one of the best rewards we can ever get as humans.
Fortunately, we are in the best position to give ourselves peace.
We choose what we want to occupy our minds and selves with.
Once your hand is clean, your mind will be at peace.
And, once your mind is at peace with yourself and others, your ways will be smooth through God’s helping grace.
- Good Name and Legacy: Being good at what you do to add value to yourself, and others will give you a good name and legacy.
A good name is better than silver.
Do not limit your achievements to money; let your name speak volumes through your good works and indelible impacts.
Strive to be known for something good and remarkable so that whenever people need something to be done, they know who to recommend and call to deliver such a task.
Be a person of your word; either you are good or you are bad, but choose to be good in every area of your life.
Do not give room for evil.
Whatever you sow, you will reap. If you sow good, you will reap the best, and if you sow badly, you will reap the worst.
Be that person whose seeds are healthy and will grow into something that will have a lasting positive effect on you and the people around you.
In conclusion, I will leave us with a task:
I want us to be advocates of “good things.”
Let us make it a habit to be eager to promote good things and people together; let us make good things happen together; and let it be that because of us, lives are changed positively.
Galatians 6:9 KJV
[9] And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
‘Good’: Its’ Surrounding Issues and Rewards!
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