6 Tips to Become a Force for Good

Thinking about and caring for others is one of the top missions that the Bible pushes us to do in our lives. However, regardless of your faith, doing good for others will also bring good into your own life. In the article “50 Ways To Do Well By Doing Good,” Bruce Kasanoff talks about how doing good for others is a ‘what goes around comes around’ idea where you benefit as much as the people you are helping.

We know many of Kasanoff’s principles to be true because they match what we find in Scripture. So how does the Bible say you can do well by doing good? Let us show you how several of Kasanoff’s principles are actually biblical in their origin and can help us do well by doing good.

“Draw a circle five miles in diameter around your home. How many people desperately need help that you have the potential to provide them?”

Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge: “Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.

Matthew 10:5-8 MSG

Sometimes the people that need our help most are our next door neighbors. Doing good in the world is not only reserved to traveling to other countries and helping people or sending money to the other side of the world for a good cause. These things aren’t bad, but we all too often forget that we have the potential to change the lives of those who live right next door to us as well.

What do you think you could do to love and care for your neighborhood?

“The best way to capture someone’s attention is to ask them a question they are interested in answering.”

Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others.

Philippians 2:4 NCV

The Bible wants us to be interested in the lives of others. When we are interested in the lives of others, we learn how to be a friend. We learn how to be social, how to connect with people, and how to really care about someone in order to start doing good in their life.

Awkward silences can easily be combatted by making it your mission to learn about people’s interests. Think about your biggest interests, whether they are TV shows, movies, sports, books, hobbies, or anything else. Think about how much you enjoy talking about those things. When you decide to care about what other people care about, you are able to start building friendships and becoming a force for good.

“Without examples, your words are little more than abstract babble & most people ignore such clutter. Tell a story!”

Let those who have been set free by the Lord tell their story. He set them free from the power of the enemy.

Psalm 107:2 NIRV

Personal stories are captivating. They make you more relatable. They make you more trustworthy. I know personally, whenever I talk to people who have stories from their own life or talk about things that are presently happening in their life, I find it so much easier to trust them and open up about my own life.

God wants us to tell our story. He wants us to share our lives with people. He wants us to share our successes and failures, our likes and dislikes, with our friends and family. God made us who we are and gave us the life we have so that we are able to share it with other people. Without life stories, you become someone with no authority. Be yourself. Share your story.

“We are only human, and we make mistakes. We see the world through our own biases and preconceptions; that is not going to change. Let’s all be a bit more humble and open-minded.”

Finally, all of you should be in agreement, understanding each other, loving each other as family, being kind and humble.

1 Peter 3:8 NCV

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who was completely closed-minded and not willing to even consider your opinion about things? How long did that conversation last? Not being willing to listen to other people’s thoughts and opinions is the quickest way to lose potential friends.

The ability to be humble makes you open-minded in a way that helps you understand everything from multiple perspectives. Decide to be willing to learn from those around you and value their opinions and experiences. You’ll find the quality of your relationships will improve and others will be more willing to learn from you too!

“Be as persistent at helping others as you are at getting what you want.”

He will pay back to each person according to his deeds [justly, as his deeds deserve]:7 to those who by persistence in doing good seek [unseen but certain heavenly] glory, honor, and immortality, [He will give the gift of] eternal life.

Romans 2:6-7 AMP

How persistent are you at getting what you want? Are you that persistent about helping others?

This scripture says that God notices when we are persistent in doing good. Do you value doing good as much as God does? Someone who does good simply for personal gain or to build up their image as a “giving person” will quickly burn out, lose motivation, and fall into the trap of selfishness.

However, if you take the time to learn the value in doing good in other people’s lives, you won’t burn out. You will gain the persistence needed to keep going no matter what. Helping others will become a part of your life you don’t want to give up.

“If you imagine the happiness others will experience as a result of your actions, you will feel just as good as they do.”

Kindness is its own reward, but cruelty is a self-inflicted wound.

Proverbs 11:17 Voice

As the Bible states, kindness yields rewards, and cruelty yields pain. When you are kind to someone else, you will experience life in a way you would never have if you had stayed completely self-focused.

As Bruce Kasanoff so succinctly puts it, “Always be yourself, unless you are a self-absorbed and self-centered person. In that case, act like someone else for a change.”