No good deed goes unpunished. Paul set a slave girl free. How free? She could no longer predict the future. Consequently, her owners lost their source of income. To get revenge, they dragged Paul and Silas before the magistrates, accusing them of unlawful customs. But the owners were really mad they had lost the money.
Though the crowd of people had experienced no loss, they were more than willing to pile on. What was their complaint? “How dare these foreigners set a woman free from demonic power!” What about the woman? How did she feel? In my sanctified imagination, I see her showing up at Lydia’s house or going to the place of prayer to join with the servants of the Lord, who had set her free.
Meanwhile, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into a dungeon of sorts, with their feet fastened in stocks. This must have been bewildering to the believers. I wonder if they thought, “When we helped someone, it brought us great harm. We set her free spiritually and now we have lost our freedom.” The stories in the Bible are so strange, they must be true.
God’s timing is not our timing. Nor does God promise us that our good deeds will be rewarded immediately. It seems our culture, too, is tolerant of everyone, except those who dare to tell them the truth. To be clear, we do not do good so that we can get something out of it. Instead, we do the work that God calls us to do and trust him with the consequences. God has shown that we can trust him with our whole lives. Paul captured it in his letter to the Galatians, “Let us not grow weary in doing good. For at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:9-10).
