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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for March 27, 2009
“No Exit Strategy”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“So do you have an exit strategy for that?”
That’s what my friend asked me.
He was referring to some volunteer work I do for a church.
Not my current church, but a former church.
We were sitting around my dining room table and he said, “You know, you do a lot of work for them. Do they pay you?”
“I don’t want to be paid. It’s just something I can easily do, so I do it. I like doing it. It’s a service, a ministry.”
“Yeah, but you don’t go there anymore. You don’t want them to take advantage of you.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that.”
“So do you have an exit strategy?”
“A what?”
“An exit strategy. You know, a plan, a way to phase out working for them.”
“Not at all. If I decide someday to stop, I’ll just tell them I can’t do it anymore. But I don’t see that happening. Like I said, I like it. I like working for the ministry. It’s the Lord’s work. It’s a service to His people. It’s something I can easily do to bless others. It makes no difference where the church is. You know, some people use their spare time to watch TV or play golf or go shopping. I’d rather do something like this to help a church. So no, there is no exit strategy.”
Now don’t get me wrong. I understand his point. I have heard of people getting roped into things at church, or “guilted” into things. I can imagine people feeling stuck doing something they don’t like, don’t feel called to, and don’t want to do. My friend just didn’t want me to end up like that.
But I look at it like this. When it becomes obvious how I can bless someone, when it’s something I can easily do, something that will be a blessing – I figure…just do it.
I lump it all under this heading: Doing Good.
And you know what? There is no exit strategy for doing good.
I mean, it’s not like I’m going to do good for a while, then quit. Doing good goes on forever.
First Peter 3:13 uses this phrase: eager to do good.
So it’s not something we do reluctantly until something better comes along. We should be eager to do good.
First Peter 2:12 says that we should do so much good that it even affects non-Christians.
The King James refers to doing good as “well doing.”
Second Thessalonians 3:13 says, “…be not weary in well doing.”
Galatians 6:9 says, “…let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
So we don’t get weak. We don’t run out of steam.
“So Doug, does that mean I can never quit a good thing once I start it?”
No. It just means you should never quit doing good in general.
I’ve done a lot of things over the years that I don’t do anymore. Needs change. Your abilities change. Your calling changes.
But here is what happens. A little voice starts to whisper in our head. It says, “You know, it’s time I did something for myself for a change.”
You start to think about what you are getting out of it. Here you are, doing all this good for others, and what good is it doing you?
See, the big temptation is not to switch from one good thing to a different good thing. The big temptation is to switch from doing good for others to only looking out for number one.
That’s when we start to think things like, “They are taking advantage of me,” and, “Hey, I should be getting paid for this.”
If we let little seeds of discontent grow, that’s when we are tempted to pull back on our good deeds.
The good news is, we will get something good out of it. We don’t focus on that, but it will happen. “In due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
So be aware of those seeds of discontent, and pull them out by the roots. Don’t grow weary in well doing. Stay strong. Keep doing your good deeds.
Don’t even think about quitting. Don’t even toy with it, because remember, there is no exit strategy for doing good.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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