The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good by Peter Greer

Author:Peter Greer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL012000, REL109000, REL012070, Service (Theology)
ISBN: 9781441261588
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2013-07-02T00:00:00+00:00

To watch a video of Alan sharing his story, see www.peterkgreer.com/danger/chapter8.

I am constantly surprised at how I keep taking the gifts God has given me—my health, my intellectual and emotional gifts—and keep using them to impress people, receive affirmation and praise, and compete for rewards, instead of developing them for the glory of God.[78]

—Henri Nouwen

Acknowledgments

When I open a book, I flip to the end and read the acknowledgments first. Yes, it’s weird. But after writing The Poor Will Be Glad, I recognize that no one writes a book alone. It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a SWAT team of editors, writers, friends, and colleagues to write a book.

Although it would be socially acceptable to say The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good is by Peter Greer—that these are my stories—that would only be part of the truth.

Three years ago an intern named Anna came to our ministry after graduating from Asbury University. She majored in English and has skills in writing that I don’t. During her internship, she listened to my voicemails from the road and crafted them into coherent stories. I sent her notes, and she would turn them into blog posts or presentations. When her internship ended, we hired her, and she now provides major help with everything I write. She probably edited this sentence.

But it is not only Anna who made this book possible. We would not have finished this book on time if we hadn’t discovered our incredible intern Allie. Allie is a remarkable woman who, despite battling cancer, researched and wrote furiously for months (even from the hospital while getting treatment).

But Anna, Allie, and I would not have a book if it were not for our amazing agent, Andrew Wolgemuth, or Andy McGuire and the team at Bethany House. I tried self-publishing with a children’s book titled Mommy’s Heart Went POP! and I now realize how critical a team of professionals is to creating a book. And the list goes on and on (please do read the acknowledgments to know all the people who made this book possible).

This same issue of reliance on others spills over into every area of life. I’m convinced there are no solo performances.

At HOPE International, anything good we have accomplished can be traced to Jesse Casler. I offered Jesse a job even before I officially started, and he quickly became a true friend and invaluable advisor. A former banker from Boston, Jesse is the type of guy who likes to read prospectuses on the weekends. He makes my habit of reading acknowledgments first seem normal!

Without Jesse’s attention to detail, our ministry would be in disarray.

In moments of clarity, it is easy to see how dependent we are on others, but why is it so easy to take credit for someone else’s hard work? Why do we crave to be the superhero in our story, especially when we’re doing good? And how might God feel when we take credit for what He has done?

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