Doing Good Things

Ahead of last night’s Norwich City game, head coach Philippe Clement said of their opponents Sheffield United, ‘They’re a very aggressive team… We need to be up for that fight. If you only focus on how to stop the opponent, you can’t win the game… There is one pressure here and that is winning’. Doing one thing well is not enough to win games.

The good things that Norwich City do – or don’t do – are very public – seen and analysed by thousands of fans.

Our local TV news told of thirteen-year-old Kaan. In June, whilst playing with friends in Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, he was carried by the tide, swum to a sandbar, and rescued by the Wells lifeboat.

Yesterday Kaan thanked the crew members who rescued him, saying, ‘I can still remember how quickly the sandbank began disappearing and the relief when the RNLI lifeboat reached me… something bad could have happened but they ended up saving me…’

The good things that the lifeboat crew did saved Kaan’s life.

For fifteen years Paula has run our Knit-and-Natter group in our church Whitton Life community. Yesterday folks gathered to say goodbye and thank you.

Paula’s done many good things at Knit-and-Natter; now she’s moving on. Doubtless she will do good things in the future. The good things that happen at Knit-and-Natter will now continue with a new team.

These good things are often unnoticed, but are important to the local community and to all who attend.

This morning I was reading from Hebrews: ‘Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.’

We’re encouraged not to do good things, but to enable and motivate others to do good things.

Some folk do life-saving good things; some do highly visible good things; some do unnoticed unseen good things; some encourage others to do good things. All are important.