Actions not only speak louder than words, they testify to what we truly value.
We've all experienced a lapse in judgement and committed acts we wish we could undo. We may attempt to ascribe the failure to any number of circumstances, but the fundamental truth is that we err because we improperly prioritize our values. In moments of weakness or uncertainty, our need to be right, be heard, experience pleasure, or simply be done overrides the love and value we place in those around us. We improperly value the self above others.
Making it all the more challenging, the acts themselves are championed in our society. We are constantly told that "we are more important," that "it's only natural," and that "they had it coming to them." The flawed messaging warps our perception and clouds our judgment. We slowly lose the truths that used to anchor our moral basis.
On the contrary, John reminds us not to submit to this skewed way of thinking. He brings clarity and proffers that our actions not only matter but point to our allegiance.
“Friend, don’t go along with evil. Model the good. The person who does good does God’s work. The person who does evil falsifies God, doesn’t know the first thing about God.”
It is so easy to go along with the evil, or as it may be better characterized in today's vernacular: to go with the flow. We naturally yearn for community and therefore strive to be accepted by those around us. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with conformity, the prevalent current is sadly not a positive one.
In John's letter he reminds the church that they can't be morally ambiguous. That others may go astray, but they need to continue to model the good. That doing good is in fact God's work.
Which brings us to a challenging questions: Do you actually do good, or do you simply have good intentions. What does the evidence of your life point to? A quote ascribed to several authors states, "we judge ourselves by our intentions, but others by their actions." How accurate and chilling. We are willing to give ourselves a pass because we've had a hard day, all the while judiciously accounting for every misstep of those near us.
So where do we go from here? One of the most important steps is to cast off the comparisons. Our goal is not to be on the positive side of the standard deviation of the crowd, but to move towards a truly righteous standard. To be definitively, not just relatively, good. In doing so we encourage those around us to be a greater version of themselves as well. Each of us us edging closer to our true potential.