I am blessed to serve a church that has an AMAZING Care Ministry. This large group of people sends out meals, cards, prayers, and love to folks in our congregation and community when they are sick, recovering from surgery, or simply in need. Every week, people receive a much-needed gesture of comfort from a team member who has volunteered to be a “do-gooder.”

Are you a do-gooder? Has God put a call on your life to serve him in the capacity of ministering to others when they are down? Good on ya! YOU are the Body of Christ.

Psalm 34 encourages us to do good. The psalmist begins by inviting us to “fear the Lord.” This is a common phrase in the Old Testament, but we shouldn’t translate this as “be afraid” of the Lord.

John J. Parsons explains it this way:

The word translated “fear” in many versions of the Bible comes from the Hebrew word yirah(יִרְאָה), which has a range of meaning in the Scriptures. Sometimes it refers to the fear we feel in anticipation of some danger or pain, but it can also can mean “awe” or “reverence.”  In this latter sense, yirah includes the idea of wonder, amazement, mystery, astonishment, gratitude, admiration, and even worship (like the feeling you get when gazing from the edge of the Grand Canyon). The “fear of the LORD” therefore includes an overwhelming sense of the glory, worth, and beauty of the One True God.

So let us come to the Lord in wonder, reverence, and amazement!

Psalm 34 (New International Version)

Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
    for those who fear him lack nothing.
¹⁰ The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Seeking the Lord with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength will result in lacking no good thing in your life. And that’s a good thing.

¹¹ Come, my children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Whoever of you loves life
    and desires to see many good days,
¹³ keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from telling lies.

Part of true reverence for God is committing to live by his commands, which includes “thou shalt not bear false witness.” This is how we demonstrate our commitment to the covenant…by keeping our tongues from evil and keeping our lips from telling lies. And we are to turn away from all evil and DO GOOD:

¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

Where is God calling you to be a do-gooder today? This isn’t one of those specialized calls…everyone can find some way to do something good for someone else. I bet you already have an idea! DO IT.