During a heated game between two long-standing local high school soccer rivals, the Eagles and the Pioneers, the Eagles kicked the ball into the goal. The ball went into the net but exited the back of the net through a hole. The referee didn’t see the ball enter the goal, and seeing the ball outside the net ruled it was not a score. The Pioneers’ coach saw the goal and voluntarily confirmed the Eagles coach’s claim, even though he could have remained silent. The referee counted the goal. The Pioneers lost the game 3–2.

While it’s easy to speak up when it’s for our benefit, the Bible encourages Christians to “always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else” (1 Thessalonians 5:15). Going beyond our normal inclination to do good for our friends, the difficult aspect of this command is working to do good for even our rivals without benefiting from our actions or expecting anything back in return (Luke 6:35). 

Doing good for a rival or competitor may mean speaking up for a coworker’s effort to complete a sale even if that means she might get the bigger bonus. Doing good might mean raking a neighbor’s leaves even if he is unlikely to say thank you.

As we actively make an effort to do good toward others, we demonstrate that God’s love extends to everyone.