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What does the Bible say about doing wrong thinking while doing good?

Posted on October 12, 2021October 15, 2021 By Kingston Tong No Comments on What does the Bible say about doing wrong thinking while doing good?
Christian Living

Thank you for the application question, “What does the Bible say about doing wrong thinking you while doing good?”

As I pondered the question, there is a difference between doing wrong thinking and doing wrong actions as well as doing or seeing good come from one’s wrongful thinking.

Luke 12 says this, “Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (NIV).

In the Parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus teaches that a person thinks that his increasing wealth means that he will be able to enjoy them for a long time. He’s planning for the future and yet he doesn’t control the future. He thought he had a lot of time but he ran out of time. The result of his increased wealth will be given to someone else. His selfishness may turn out to be a blessing for others.

Proverbs 23 says this, “Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; 7 for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. 8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments” (NIV).

A begrudging or stingy host may want to impress someone to gain a favor from that person or to impress others of his wealth may throw a grand party with the best of everything. S/he may say, “Eat, drink, and be merry,” which may allowed his/her guests to enjoy the party, even though he is counting the dollars that s/he is spending. S/he may be hoping to ask for some favor or that s/he may want to meet someone you know.

To be honest, many of us give donations to get a tax deduction or to make ourselves feel good by donating to Food Bank, to St. Jude or The American Red Cross. The gift one gives blesses others, but the giver’s motivation is skewed. It’s not that one loves his neighbor as himself, but it is to impress his neighbor.

The Scriptures declares that as one thinks so is that person or what comes out of the mouth/heart of that person reflects the character of that person. It may appear to be good and it may even have the benefit of blessing others, but the motivation of that person’s heart will be revealed one day. It wasn’t meant for good but God used it for good despite the person’s wrong thinking. The Book of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs provide much insight into human behavior.

SUMMARY: The intended deception by one may turn out for good for another person, but the deceiver is not happy about the result.

For further discussion:

https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-Bible-say-about-doing-wrong-thinking-you-were-doing-good

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