Acts 10:38

“People, Be Good”

Who went about doing good. Acts 10:38.

Some of the boys and girls here know the name of John Ruskin. You know that he was a great writer and teacher of last century, and that the things he wrote were wise and beautiful and noble. Now I want to tell you about the first sermon John Ruskin ever preached. How old do you think he was when he preached it? Just three years! And what do you think he said? “People, be good. If you are good, God will love you. If you are not good, God will not love you. People, be good.”

Well, Ruskin was not much more than a baby then, and he didn't understand one of the most wonderful facts that God loves us even when we are naughty, that He loves us all the time. Nevertheless I think it was very good advice that baby Ruskin gave “People, be good”; and so I am going to say to you today, “People, be good; boys and girls, be good.”

But what does being good mean? There have been many different ideas about that. Once upon a time men thought that to be good they must shut themselves away from the world. And some of them lived as hermits in dens and caves of the mountains and gave themselves up to fasting and reading holy books and saying long prayers. That was not Jesus' way. We read of His going apart into a desert place to pray, but that was only that He might talk with His Father and renew His strength for the work God had given Him to do. Jesus' way of being good was doing good. Our text tells us that He “went about doing good” not just thinking about it, or talking about it, but doing it. And so the best way to he good is to do good.

The other day I read a story about a father who was going from home for a short time, and as he was taking leave of his small son he said, “Goodbye; be good.” “Right-o, Father!” replied the small boy. A few days later father returned from his travels and his first question was, “Well, Tommy, have you been a good boy?” “Oh yes, Father,” was Tommy's prompt reply. But father had once been a boy himself, so he thought he would inquire a little farther into matters. “Well now, Tommy, did you do as your mother bade you?” Tommy was a truthful small boy, so he owned up that he hadn't always. “And were you kind to Alec?” (Alec was the small brother.) “Well, one day he made me awful mad and I struck him.” “Then how do you make out that you were good?” “Well, you see, one day I heard another boy say a bad word and I smacked him on the mouth.”

Tommy's father was wiser the next time he went from home. Instead of telling his son to be good this is what he said, “Do what your mother tells you, be kind to your small brother, speak the truth, and play fair.” That is the kind of thing that doing good means.

You know the world is made up of a great many different kinds of people, in fact there are about as many different kinds as there are people, but if we judge people by their deeds, I think there are four main classes.

1. First, there are those who go about doing harm. I hope none of you belong to that class, for there are a few boys and girls in it as well as grown-ups. Wherever these people go they have a bad influence. If they get into a school, the whole tone of the school is lowered. If there are any such in your school don't have anything to do with them. You can be quite agreeable to them, but don't make them your chums or listen to their talk.

2. And then, there are those who go about the world doing mischief. They are not intentionally bad, these people. Very often they just mean to have a little fun. And so long as the mischief doesn't hurt others, there isn't much harm in it. But mischief has an unfortunate way of hurting others in a way we never thought of. For the mischievous people are generally the thoughtless people. Now I'm not going to mention the different kinds of mischief, because you know them just as well as I do, and if I happened to mention a particular kind you hadn't thought of, you might want to go and try it straight away. But I just want to say this.

If you do wish a little fun and nonsense, try to choose the kind that doesn't hurt other people.

3. The third kind of people go about the world doing nothing. I don't mean to say that they are absolutely idle. Some of them are very busy indeed. Some are very busy making money, others are very busy enjoying themselves. But for all that they do to make the world better or happier or more beautiful they might just as well not have lived.

There was a Roman Emperor once called Titus. And if he did not right some wrong, or do some good thing each day, he used to say to his courtiers, “Alas! I have lost a day.”

Titus was only a heathen, but I think he might have put to shame many people who live in Christian lands. Don't be a “do-nothing.” God sends us each day as a beautiful gift and we must see to it that we make good use of it. What are you doing with your gift?

4. But, lastly, there are the people who go about doing good. That was what Jesus did, and if we want to learn how to do good we must look to Him.

What kind of good did Jesus do? He made sick people well, He made sad people glad, He made bad people good. We can help to make sick people well, by being kind to them when they are ill, and by giving our spare money to the hospitals where the sick are cared for. We can help to make sad people glad by a smile or a word or a loving look. We can help to make bad people good. How did Jesus do it? By being good Himself, by believing the best about them, and by loving them.

And we can help to make people good in the same way by living a beautiful life, by believing the best about others, and by loving them.

God has a big work to do in the world, and every little kind and helpful and unselfish and loving thing you do helps it on. Wouldn't you like to be God's helpers?

Somebody did a golden deed:

Somebody proved a friend in need:

Somebody sang a beautiful song:

Somebody smiled the whole day long:

Somebody thought, “'tis sweet to live”:

Somebody said, “I'm glad to give”:

Somebody fought a brave, good fight:

Somebody loved to help the right:

Was that somebody you?