60: Contribute to the Good

I don’t know about you, but I love a good potluck meal. Whether it’s a family dinner, a church picnic, a holiday party, or a get together with friends, I just love the concept. Everyone contributes a favorite dish, and together, we feast.

I think I love it for two reasons. One, I’m only responsible for the dish I bring, not the entire meal. As someone who isn’t that great of a cook but has her staple dishes and desserts, I can handle that. Two, I love trying other people’s contributions. Plain and simple. I get to enjoy recipes I didn’t have to put together and nine times out of ten, they don’t disappoint.

An invitation to a potluck get-together always begs the question, what will I bring to the table? What will I choose to offer? And while sharing a meal and living a life are not entirely parallel, I do think those same questions are helpful and important to ask as we live our lives, day in and day out. What will I choose to bring to the table, today?

I’m finding that each day, it seems we have a choice. There is an abundance of heartache, spiteful interaction, and mean-spirited rhetoric all around right now, and, while it doesn’t get as much attention, there are also hints of goodness, compassion, and loving-kindness tucked away all throughout our days. We get to decide which we’re going to be a part of, which we’re going to contribute to.

A few weeks ago, I sent an email to one of the pastors I work with. He was working on a project, and I had an idea for it that I thought I would share, just in case it might be helpful. I cannot adequately express how basic and simple the content of that email was, but a couple hours later, I received quite an enthusiastic response. In his email, he listed several surprisingly good things that had happened that day, and included my email as one of them.

Without giving it much thought, I replied with, “Glad I could contribute to a good day!”

It’s not really about that email interaction. And it’s not that it’s a super profound line or anything, but ever since I sent that reply, I haven't been able to get that line out of my head. And usually, if something sticks with me like that, I know I need to pay attention to it. So, since then, I’ve been reflecting on that one-line reply, considering what it might look like to intentionally and regularly contribute to the good.

In Psalm 23:6, we read these familiar words:

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”

Usually, we interpret that line, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me” to mean that God’s goodness and love will pursue us and never let us go. That is a true and accurate understanding for sure. But I wonder if there could be more. I wonder if there could be another meaning behind it, an added layer that speaks into this idea of contributing to the good.

What if God’s goodness, mercy, and love following us not only meant that it pursues and sticks with us, but that as it does, we also leave traces of it behind? What if, as we go about our day, we spread God’s goodness and love in the valley around us? What if we could leave behind a trail of breadcrumbs leading to a feast filled with God’s goodness?

It’s not something that we can do by ourselves, through our own determination or willpower. Instead, it’s the overflow of a life that dwells in the house of the Lord day in and day out, that abides in Christ, that is filled with the Spirit. Just as we love because God first loved us, goodness and mercy follow behind us because God relentlessly follows and pursues. Day in and day out.

In a world filled with so much heaviness, hatred, and heartache, we need to contribute to the good. Not to negate or turn a blind eye toward the hurt, but to help heal and alleviate it.

So what might it look like to contribute to the good? To contribute to the good in our relationships? Our families? Our churches? Our neighborhoods? Our workplaces? Our communities? Even our online spaces? What is God calling us to bring to the table?

Maybe it’s a kind word. A listening ear. A helping hand. A gracious response. A look in the eye. A generous spirit. A desire to mend rather than tear down. A shoulder to cry on. A work of art. A critique wrapped in genuine goodwill. A second chance. A rich conversation. A wise yes. A courageous no. A compassionate heart. A steady presence. A humble posture. A life of integrity. A sacrificial love.

And maybe that’s the key. Maybe contributing to the good starts with walking in the way of love. 

Gertrude More, a benedictine nun in the 1600s, put it this way:

“O my God, let me walk in the way of love,

which never seeks self in anything whatsoever.

But what love must it be?

It must be an ardent love,

A pure love,

A courageous love,

A love of charity,

A humble love,

And a constant love.

O Lord, give this love into my soul.”

Today, as you seek to walk in the way of love, remember to contribute to the good. To bring something good to the table. And in a world that often feels very much like a valley, may God’s goodness and love follow us wherever we go.