Do No Harm
July 21, 2024
Galatians 5:13-15, Proverbs 3:28-29
You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love. All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour each other, be careful that you don’t get eaten up by each other!
Galatians 5:13-15 (CEB)
Don’t plan to harm your neighbor who trusts and lives near you.
Proverbs 3:29 (CEB)
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John Wesley, in his instructions to all those desirous of salvation, explained that the evidence of their
sincerity was "First, by doing no harm, by avoiding evil of every kind, especially that which is most
generally practiced ..." (Book of Discipline 2000, ¶103, p. 73). Even before listing good things to do, Wesley began by listing harmful things to avoid doing. There is a powerful lesson for Christian leaders in this instruction — as valuable as good works may be, it is even more valuable to avoid those things that might harm others or destroy the foundation of trust of the congregation.~ excerpt from UMC Discipleship
In theory, the idea of doing no harm seems simple.
Perhaps that’s why Bishop Reuben Job calls it the first of “Three Simple Rules.” It’s simple because in general, we do not seek to do harm to others. We don’t usually try to hurt people. At the same time, we know the reality that it is often the people who are closest to us that we hurt the most, often without even realizing it.
Consider a few of the ways we commonly do harm to others without necessarily intending it:
Gossip - We all have opinions and easily find fault with other people, but it is far to easy to talk “about” those people rather than talking “to” them or “with” them.
Unfair Criticism - It is so easy to criticize someone for not living up to our expectations, but in truth, we have no idea what is going on in their lives. Scripture calls us to turn our criticism into encouragement to build one another up in the Lord.
Rumors - similar to gossip, rumors or mis-information is widespread in our culture. Even fact checkers have been challenged as false when they don’t line up with “what we have heard” or “what we already think.” As Christians, we must be far more discerning about the information we spread, especially when it is about someone else.
Respectful discourse even in disagreement - As much as we may want to avoid conflict, often brushing our disagreements under the rug and not dealing with them can do even more harm. We must learn to respect one another’s opinions while also challenging those places where those opinions, including our own, may cause harm to others.
Apathy - One of the easiest and most common ways we do harm to others is simply by not doing anything at all. When we refuse to speak up on behalf of a person or group who is experiencing harm, we are part of the problem.
What other ways do you see harm in our world, or even in your own life?
How will you work intentionally to “do no harm” this week?