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Do no harm, do good, stay in love with God

July

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist denomination, created a list of General
Rules: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all
the places you can, in all the times you can, to all the people you can as long as you ever
can.” Wesley was concerned his lay ministers would become lukewarm in their faith, so
he told them to “catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch
you burn.” Wesley’s whole life was devoted to spreading the word about salvation
through word-of-mouth.
Rueben P. Job author of “Three Simple Rules – A Wesleyan Way of Living,” writes
that the Wesleyan movement is a prime example of how a new world is formed when
three simple rules are adopted as a way of living: 1. Do no harm. 2. Do Good. 3. Stay
in love with God. The Gospels tell us that Jesus taught and practiced these rules, but alas!
they are a challenge for us for they call us to a unity, a respect for one another and a
deeper relationship with God.
The Church of England detested the methods used by Wesley: going where the
people were instead of meeting people in a church building. In Wesley’s 70 years, he
traveled on horseback almost 300,000 miles preaching three or more sermons every day.
He left behind 135,000 Methodists the year he died – 1703. Wesley had a call to
personal holiness. He did no harm. He did good. He stayed in love with God.
‘Doing no harm’ means to be devoted to healing persons instead of hurting them. It
means creating harmony instead of division.
‘Do no harm’ means following the steps to Jesus instead of the steps of the world.
We have to be on guard so that our actions cause no injury. We have to question our
silence, our passivity! By not taking action through word or deed, did we fail to come to
the aid of someone in need? Every sound out of our mouths must change into edifying
words. Oh how our societies would change if we all practiced the first rule: ‘do not
harm!’ Gossip would cease! Our fear of one another would disappear. Imagine the
positive change in our political campaigns? Concentration on new insights, and new
possibilities could begin as well as acknowledgement that we stand on common ground.
‘Do no harm’ is a simple rule, but the way is not easy. The way is a continuous
journey affording us critical choices every bend of the road. We may feel lost at times
but “fear no evil…for goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives”
(Psalm 23). ‘Do no harm’, ‘Do good’ and ‘Stay in love with God’ is a challenging path
that we will venture further down in the next article. Meanwhile, open your heart; start
exercising your godly skills to practice the first rule as Jesus did: ‘Do no harm’.