Do Good & Communicate
1 Timothy 6:18 (KJV) says, “That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate.”
Hebrews 13:16 (KJV) says, “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
Upon reading these two scriptures, I was intrigued to see the word communicate when encouraging believers to do good. We all know communication to be a conversation of some sort, but as Paul and the author of Hebrews urged believers to communicate, they simultaneously encouraged them to do good. Why?
Google defines communication as the imparting or exchanging of information or news.
The two Greek words that are used in the scriptures above are Strong’s Greek 2843, koinónikos, and Strong’s Greek 2842, koinónia. In this context, to communicate is to be generous, to share, to be sociable, to contribute, and to be financially liberal. One who communicates is charitable in their giving, showing the person receiving God’s generosity and kindness in Christ. Communication can be more than sharing information; it can also include sharing wealth and possessions.
Now, on the surface, we understand how being generous in sharing attributes to doing good as Scripture encourages us to look out for the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). However, I see how one must do good and communicate so as not to pose as a hindrance to the one they are supposed to be leading to God with their generosity. Let’s look to the Pharisees.
Matthew 23:1-3 (KJV) — “Then spake Jesus to the multitudes, and to His disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say and do not.”
Jesus was telling the people that the scribes and Pharisees were hypocrites! They communicated the good that they did not do. They shared with others the ways of the Lord through the Law, but failed to apply them to their own lives to lead them unto repentance.
I was once like them. I, too, was quick to share The Word with others but failed to apply it to my own life, leading to ungodly behavior. That’s why Paul tells us not to make common the Word of God that it may be at work in you (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
When you become like the Scribes and Pharisees, with your evil deeds, even the communication that you give will become corrupt.
Matthew 23:15,23-24 (NKJV) — “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves… Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”
Scripture tells us that one leaven leavens the whole bunch, and a bad tree can not bear good fruit (Galatians 5:9, Matthew 7:17-18). Being a hypocrite (sharing The Word without applying it to your own life), you only fool yourself.
Don’t let there be a contradiction found in you and your communication (with what you share with others and how you live your life) because you do not do good. Even when we are called to give an account of why we hope the way we do (communicate), we are to do so with respect and meekness (good) (1 Peter 3:15). We are called to do both: do good and communicate, not just one.