When someone does something good on our behalf, there are two ways to respond—in kind with good toward them or with evil. As Christians, we owe a debt to those who have helped us spiritually. Regretfully, it is not uncommon to hear of some who have stabbed in the back those who have helped them. Recently, a man whose family had been helped by several brethren did precisely that, and several e-mails were circulated with respect to it. Why did he not possess gratitude for those who had helped him out for several months?
Sadly, this kind of treatment is nothing new. One can read of great ingratitude on the part of Nabal toward David and his men who had protected him. Even this “fool’s” servants acknowledged David’s men were very good to them: “They were a wall to us both by day and night” (1 Sam. 25:14-16). Yet when David asked for food for his men on a certain feast day, Nabal not only refused but did so with an insult (1 Sam. 25:10-11). David was so infuriated that he was ready to slaughter everything that belonged to Nabal, but his wife Abigail allayed the future king’s anger by bringing food and apologizing for her husband. God still punished her selfish husband by striking him (his heart was already as stone), and he died (1 Sam. 25:36-38).
Solomon would later write: “Whoever rewards evil for good, evil will not depart from his house” (Pr. 17:13). What is ironic is that Solomon’s very existence was due to evil that David had done to Uriah the Hittite. Since David had committed fornication with Bathsheba (Uriah’s wife), which resulted in her becoming pregnant, he summoned her husband back from the battlefield. Presumably a conjugal visit would cover up the sin. Few would doubt that the child was Uriah’s even though it would be born “early.” However, the noble soldier refused to enjoy the blessings of home life while his comrades were risking their lives daily. Sending him back to the battle with his own death warrant guaranteed that Uriah would not later deny paternity.
God, however, knew all of the details; none of them were concealed from Him. The child that had been conceived died, though David sought earnestly for his life in prayer. David took Bathsheba as wife, and the son of their marriage together was Solomon, who wrote the words about evil not departing from the house of the one who had returned evil for good. When Nathan confronted David about his sin, he told him specifically that “the sword shall never depart from your house” (2 Sam. 12:9). This punishment would certainly fit the category of evil not departing from his house.
Christians especially should be careful not to mistreat their benefactors, yet such occurs frequently. A few examples are hereby cited—in no particular order and without the use of anyone’s name. A particular woman was instrumental in beginning a school. She herself was a professional teacher. She organized the curriculum, oversaw placement testing, and took care of all the administrative work. After the school expanded, other teachers were hired, and some of them did not like her because she was not as strict a disciplinarian as they were. The board fired her. Only a few had any appreciation for her initial sacrifices. She dealt with the situation admirably, even though her critics returned evil for her good. (Without her, that school lasted only one year afterward.)
Many preachers have made sacrifices over the years, and most of them have not complained. They have been willing to earn less money than they might otherwise have made in secular work because of their dedication to the Lord and the importance of His work. How sad that some congregations have shown little or no appreciation for such men. Probably, brethren justify ill treatment of preachers by saying, “Well, we pay him, don’t we?” While this is true, it is often the case that some members benefit more than others with various personal attentions, and these often prove to be the least grateful of all.
Once a preacher was holding a Sunday through Friday gospel meeting in Alabama, which was followed by another one to be held in Texas beginning the following Sunday. A brother in Illinois was determined that the preacher should do his son’s wedding the Saturday in between, which required driving all night Friday to arrive on time for the wedding and driving most of Saturday night to get to the gospel meeting. And the father was so grateful that he paid him $20. Others have traveled to speak at congregations and not even broken even on their expenses.
Anomalies such as these are more than compensated for by other examples of generosity. However, what is truly lamentable are those instances in which a Christian goes out of his way to help a fellow brother only to be repudiated by the same individual. A young Christian woman introduced a friend into the congregation and made sure that she was welcome: then before long her ”friend” began spreading gossip against her. What kind of response is that? In another place, when it was decided that the preacher should leave, the ones he had helped the most shouted, “Amen,” the loudest! It is amazing that scoundrels and charlatans can always find a loyal contingent to support them, but a faithful man often finds few brethren to commiserate with him—and then they tell him something like, “We know you were treated poorly, but we have to stay here and live with these brethren, and you don’t. All congregations have problems, and we’ll just have to bear with the situation.” Hmm.
Imagine how Paul felt when he worked with and tried to build up Demas. He encouraged him in the work and even mentioned his name in some letters that he wrote, but Demas proved to have no regard for Paul or for the Lord Jesus Christ, either. He simply walked away from the work of the gospel (2 Tim. 4:10). Who knows how much Paul may have been depending on him? Did he fulfill the responsibilities he had been assigned or just leave Paul in the lurch? In any case, Paul was undoubtedly greatly saddened that someone with such great promise would throw it away for a few pleasant things in the world.
In the Old Testament are many who returned evil for good (especially toward God), but one of the most treacherous was Joash. He owed his very survival to his aunt Jehoshabeath, who rescued him when Athaliah had all the royal heirs put to death (2 Chron. 22:10-11).
The family tree applicable to this event begins with Jehoshapahat, the fourth king of Judah. His fellowship with Ahab was not approved by God, and a seer rebuked him for it (2 Chron. 19:1-2). Nevertheless, his son Jehoram married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab (2 Chron. 21:6). Together they had a son named Ahaziah (2 Chron. 22:2). When Ahaziah was killed by Jehu, Athaliah decided to kill all of the heirs to the throne of David. And she would have succeeded had it not been for Jehoshabeath, Ahaziah’s sister. She was able to rescue one-year-old Joash.
This courageous woman was married to Jehoiada the priest, and they hid Joash in the house of the Lord for six years (2 Kings 22:10-23:1). At the appropriate time, Jehoiada arranged to have Joash proclaimed king, and he began to rule at the age of 7. The young king did what was right in the sight of the Lord as long as Jehoiada lived (2 Kings 24:2). However, after his protector-priest died, “the leaders of Judah” talked him into going back to idolatry (2 Chron. 24:17-18).
Eventually, a man named Zechariah called the king and the people to account: “Why do you transgress the comments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has forsaken you” (2 Chron. 24:20). Of course, a king ought to listen to any prophet of God—but especially when he is the son of the man who saved his life! Yes, Zechariah was the son of Jehoiada the priest. Even if Joash had no desire to comply with the prophet’s message, he nevertheless should still have shown respect for the offspring of those who saved his own life. Sadly, the text reads:
So they conspired against him, and at the commandment of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done for him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said: “The Lord look on it, and repay!” (2 Chron. 24:21-22).
God brought up a small company of Syrians to fight against Joash, and they left him wounded. His own servants finished him off, and when it came time to lay him to rest, he was not buried in the tombs of the kings (2 Chron. 24:23-35). What a sad ending for one who was trained to be so much better than he turned out. How much wisdom had Jehoiada imparted unto him about affairs of state that he just forsook at the first hint of pressure in the opposite direction. Thus is the end of those who return evil for good.
The ultimate disappointment was Judas, who did far worse than fail to live up to his potential. He denied the only begotten Son of God, who had included him in all of His work over a three-year period. What a privilege to walk with the Lord on a daily basis—to learn from THE Master. How could he sell Jesus to His enemies for 30 pieces of silver? What would he purchase with that sum of money that that he would be proud of? Furthermore, how could he be so hypocritical as to betray Him with a kiss? If we could understand his motivation, we would have to worry about ourselves.
Judas stands as the epitome of the one who returned evil for good. Jesus told him in advance, “The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born” (Matt. 26:24). Wow! Non-existence is better than what awaited Judas. [Fudge argues in his book, The Fire That Consumes, that non-existence is more to be feared than eternal punishment, thus disagreeing with the Lord.]
Jonathan and Mephibosheth
Jonathan was David’s closest friend, but he was placed in a difficult position. His father Saul wanted to put David to death. Jonathan could not be part of a plan that called for doing evil to a man who had only done good things for the king. He protested his father’s announced intention: “Why should he be killed? What has he done?” (1 Sam. 20:32). David had never harmed Saul and never would, though he later had two opportunities to put Saul to death.
David and Jonathan made a covenant with each other regarding themselves and their descendants (2 Sam. 20:42). Jonathan realized that David would be king and that his father Saul knew it (2 Sam. 23:17). Jonathan did not know that he would be killed in battle, however. So how did David treat Jonathan’s descendants? Since his friend had helped keep him alive, did David, when he became king, return evil or good for good? David actively sought to discover what he could about Jonathan’s family:
Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Sam. 9:1).
“There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet” (2 Sam. 9:3b).
Then David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he answered, “Here is your servant!” (2 Sam. 9:6b).
So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually” (2 Sam. 9:7).
Thus David repaid good for good; however, a time arose when David wondered if Mephibosheth was returning his good for evil. When Absalom, David’s son, raised up a rebellion against him, Mephibosheth, did not leave the city with David. The lame son’s servant, Ziba, spoke unfavorably toward his master when David inquired of his presence. Ziba said of Mehibosheth that he was remaining in Jerusalem, proclaiming, “Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me” (2 Sam. 16:3). David was so incensed at such ingratitude that he immediately bestowed all of Mephibosheth’s possessions upon Ziba (2 Sam. 16:4).
When David returned to Jerusalem, Mephibosheth came out to meet him with signs of mourning upon him (2 Sam, 19: 24-25). When David asked why he had not joined him, he blamed his servant Ziba for both leaving without him and slandering his name to the king. He added that “all of his father’s house were but dead men” before David honored him by allowing him to eat at his own table: “Therefore what right have I still to cry out any more to the king?” David relented of his earlier judgment and divided the land between Jonathan’s son and Ziba (2 Sam. 19:26-29).
Modern Examples
No sufficient amount of evidence exists to indicate that Mephibosheth was not telling the truth. Certainly, all would like to believe that he had not returned evil for good to David. But having looked at both responses, it is appropriate to look upon ourselves. Has God provided good things for us? How could we truthfully answer anything but yes?
He has provided salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for our sins and is willing to forgive each and every sin that we have ever committed. He has promised us an eternal home in heaven. While we are upon the earth, He has made available all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places to us in Christ (Eph. 1:3). The privilege of prayer, being called the sons of God, and many other benefits could be cited, but the point is well established that God has certainly done good to us.
But are we returning good to Him or evil? When we forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb. 10:25), what are we returning to Him? When we refuse to learn and study the Word of God (our daily bread), what are we giving back to Him? When we seldom or never take part in the good works that the congregation is doing, how have we responded to Jesus’ great love and sacrifices? When we do not pray and interact with each other as members of the body of Christ ought to do, are we pleasing to Him? When we fail to encourage brothers and sisters by our attendance, earnestness, and care for them, is Jesus disappointed? If we put ourselves and our own desires first, are we returning evil or good to the One who gave all for us?
Are we unstable, undependable, and unreliable so far as the Lord’s cause is concerned? What if Jesus had been indifferent to our need of salvation? What are we doing with our lives? Will they count for anything in eternity? At least Noah saved his family; who will we show up in eternity with? Who will thank us for encouraging them in the Way? Or will people say to us then, “You never mentioned Him to me”?
Of course, we will probably never treat God as good as He has treated us, but that is not the point. Are we returning evil for good, thus placing ourselves in jeopardy of His wrath? God reacted negatively toward David with respect to Uriah but favorably toward him as it pertained to Mephibosheth. David himself reacted negatively to Nabal and toward Mephibosheth (on the basis of Ziba’s charges). God destroyed Joash for the evil he did to Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah. Judas destroyed his own physical body, but he will still be held accountable on the Day of Judgment for the evil he did to Jesus.
Surely, every Christian knows the ways in which God wants us to respond to His goodness. We must continue in His goodness by returning good for good. Ingratitude and lackluster service involve returning evil for good, which put us in jeopardy. Let us instead be wise, good, and profitable servants.