Doing Right

Disappointment, or even frustration, comes when you try to do something for others with the best of intentions, and you get criticized—or castigated—for doing it.

In a nutshell, that's the story of our lives.

There are always pros and antis to anything anyone does.

I once had an extra TV set which I hardly used. One day, a relatively new member of our staff mentioned that she'd been saving up for a TV set.  Immediately, I offered her my extra one. My reward for this good deed was a grateful face, all aglow.

Two days later, the glowing turned into crying. She came to me, trying to return the TV set. She heard some members of the staff talking, saying how unfair I was for favoring a new employee and ignoring the long-time ones. They had forgotten that I extended  the same gesture to them in other ways many times in the past.

Now I am wary in giving something away spontaneously; I worry about what others will say.    

When one of my sons was still in grade school, he wanted to record history by making a family tree for our clan. He used his allowance to buy a program to create the tree online and spent many hours over the years collecting data—births, marriages, and deaths—to update it. His reward was accolades from appreciative clan members for his initiative and excellent work.

Many years later, some howled in protest against invasion of privacy and wanted their branch deleted. This almost escalated into a controversy and endangered unity. Now my son doesn't want to touch the tree, totally abandoning the intent for which it was created.

Because we receive blessings every second of our existence, we often ignore the intent of grace. We simply focus on what should come our way.  

It must be disappointing, or even frustrating, for the Giver who relentlessly pours His grace upon anyone.  Yet He does it over and over again.  He is never wary; He never wavered in giving away even His life.

Note to self: Next time you feel like doing something good, think not of what others will say or what you will get in return.  Focus on doing right.