Good Deeds Bring Joy

I’ve learned many life-changing lessons from the study of Christian Science. One that I am especially grateful for — and it’s really pretty basic — is that you can’t go through life just thinking about yourself, and expect to be happy.

One day I was feeling a little down and depressed, so I talked to a Plainfield practitioner. The practitioner asked me, “What have you done for someone else lately?” I was stunned for a moment, because I really couldn’t think of anything I had done for someone else recently. The practitioner made the point that, in order to be happy, we have to be thinking of others. It is a matter of principle. And the practitioner gave me a quote from Science and Health: “Good deeds are immortal, bringing joy instead of grief, pleasure instead of pain, and life instead of death.” So that is what good deeds can do!

For me, this was a really important lesson. After that, whenever I felt like I was getting a little down or depressed, I would think of something I could do for someone else. I would ask God what somebody needs, and then fulfill that need. And sure enough, that always cured whatever was getting me down. It really is true that you can’t be unhappy when you are helping somebody else. It’s a wonderful remedy for depression.

This is a simple, but profound, lesson. Doing good deeds heals grief, it heals pain, and gives purpose to our life.