Good people or God’s people?

The posters with politicians doling out their “generous” gifts to the unfortunate lot, the numerous NGOs scripting out projects for the eradication of social evils for decades and decades together, the so called social activists voicing the woes of the downtrodden. .. These are today common scenes in any society. People who do good and claim to do good, do it with various intentions and it is that which makes all the difference.

One thing is to be known as people who do good and the other is to be people of God. Doing good has no end to it and is evaluated in its quantity, in the volume of the good we do. Being God’s people is in a way simpler and in another way a bit more demanding. Simpler because it does not matter what you do and how much you do but with how much of love you do whatever you do! More demanding because even a slight intention of selfishness or vain glory can negate the true effect of the good that is done.

To be marked as people of God is to belong to God and to put our whole self and all we have at the disposal of the One who gave it all to us. It is important to be people who do good, but more important it is to be people of God.

– Antony Christy SDB (Salesians of Don Bosco)