A Really Good Person

2/9/22  A Really Good Person  Glenda Simpkins Hoffman

Sometimes things come together in life in an interesting and surprising way. This week I spent time preparing for the Women’s Bible study on Nehemiah 5, and I finished reading The Journal of John Woolman. There are many parallels. 

In Nehemiah, the wall is going up and external opposition is being addressed. But chapter 5 shifts the focus from the broken-down walls of the city of God to the broken ways of the people of God.   

Many Jews had left their homes in the surrounding area to come to Jerusalem to do their part to build the wall. It was a time of famine, so food supplies were already scarce. Many women and children left at home did not have enough to feed their children. Desperate for money to buy food and to pay their taxes, people borrowed money. Apparently, some of the privileged people were taking advantage of the situation inflating the price of grain and loaning money at exorbitant rates. Some found it necessary to sell family members into slavery to other Jews to pay their debts.  

The people cry out, and Nehemiah is outraged to learn what is going on and confronts the nobles. Reverence for God and his law and gratitude for God’s generosity toward them should have guided actions instead of greed. God has led the people out of slavery in Egypt. How could they even think about making slaves again of their brothers and sisters? They were called to be God’s chosen people who were to serve as a light to the nations. How would the nations believe God was good, kind, compassionate and generous if they saw his people enslaving their brothers and sisters? Nehemiah confronts this injustice, and calls God’s people to confession, repentance, and action that reflects the goodness and justice of God.  

Nehemiah’s words and actions brought to my mind the social justice tradition described well by Richard Foster in his book Streams of Living Water. “The power to be the kind of people we were created to be and the power to do the works of God upon the earth places us on solid ground to engage the demands of the social arena. And no place is in greater need of people full of the Holy Spirit and divine love. The Social Justice Stream of Christian life and faith focuses upon justice and shalom in all human relationships and social structures. The compassionate way of living addresses the gospel imperative for equity and magnanimity among all peoples.” 

 Another wonderful example of this stream is John Woolman, an 18th-century Quaker who courageously and humbly addressed racism, consumerism, and militarism. The Journal of John Woolman reveals how he brought the power of “Divine Love” into the volatility of social issues of his day. 

 Woolman had become a successful businessperson by his late 20’s. However, he became concerned that his business was taking an inordinate amount of his time and energy so he turned in a different direction. “A way of life free from much Entanglements appeared best for me.” This reflected the Quaker value of simplicity. “The desire of simplicity is to uncomplicate and untangle my life so I can focus on what really matters. Simplicity cultivates the great art of letting go by loosening inordinate attachment to owning and having. Simplicity brings freedom and with it generosity” (Adele Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook). As the Shaker hymn says, “’Tis a gift to be simple, ’tis a gift to be free.” 

 John Woolman’s life exemplified that an inward reality of simplicity led to a greater awareness of divine love that in turn resulted in an outward lifestyle of freedom, compassion, and generosity. What goes on inside our hearts impacts the world around us and who we are in it. 

Like Nehemiah, Woolman’s personal example spoke volumes to others. When a fellow Quaker believed he was dying, he asked Woolman to write a will. Woolman was more than willing and did so without asking for compensation. However, Woolman refused to write a will that included passing on another human as a slave. After a heart-to-heart conversation, the ill man decided to free the slave instead. On another occasion, Woolman, was a guest at a fellow Quaker’s home. When he learned the servants there were slaves, he quietly got up and left the house. This powerful example had such an impact on the host that he freed all of his slaves the next morning. 

The focus of John Woolman’s itinerant ministry soon became the abolition of the institution of slavery. He spoke and wrote widely on the topic. At The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends in 1758, there was much debate about the matter. Woolman’s words so moved the Quaker body that they made the unanimous decision to remove slavery from among their members. By the time the American colonies had declared independence, Quakerism had freed itself from the institution of slavery. John Woolman’s example, ministry, and writing had a major impact on that effort. 

Richard Foster writes, “No book outside of the Bible has influenced me more than The Journal of John Woolman. I am endlessly moved by how Woolman wrestled with the knotty issues of war and peace, race and quality, wealth and simplicity, with a striking blending of compassion with courage, tenderness and firmness.… John Woolman was a prophet for his day, a prophet who took the Quaker testimonies for equality, simplicity and peace and forged them into instruments of social revolution, ever tempering them in the stream of ‘Divine Love.’ D. Elton Trueblood has rightly observed that:

‘all who read Woolman have a chance to realize that the best thing in the world is a really good person.’” 

Both Nehemiah and Woolman were really good people. Even in the face of obstacles and great evil, both were able to lead and influence others to repent and go in a new direction for the glory of God and the good of others. They helped others remember what God had done for them, and called them to words and actions that reflected the nature of their great and awesome God. They had become response-able—the kind of people who were able to do what needs to be done. 

Whatever our situation in life—in our families, workplaces, neighborhoods—God needs good people who have the courage and humility and love to step forward to do what is needed, to do what is right.  

The situation in Nehemiah’s day and in Woolman’s day is not so different from our own. There are people who experience food insecurity everyday right in our neighborhoods. There are more slaves today than there have ever been. Modern slavery takes the form of both sex trafficking and forced labor. Sadly, many still engage in evil taking advantage of the vulnerable to satisfy their greed for money and power.  

We as God’s people have the joy of standing together to do what is right.  Right now we are welcoming 35 guests into our church every evening as we serve as a Hypothermia Prevention host sight.  You can sign up to prepare a meal, donate needed items, or give money to help with this effort.  

We continue to provide Bags of Love for vulnerable communities. The next one is February 17.  

We continue to seek to understand and develop trust through the Racial Reconciliation and Justice Prayer calls every first Friday from 12:00 to 1:00PM. The next one is Friday, March 4, and Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87865087355. 

Belong! is a ministry our church helped to start and still supports. The mission is to demonstrate God’s love in action by providing or facilitating access to services that empower and equip the underserved in our community through education, community engagement, and other essential services. Learn more about how you can be a part: Nonprofit | Belong! | Vienna (belongvienna.org).

This week the old song “They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love” came to me in three different ways. When that happens, I pay attention. The song is a good reminder of who we are and whose we are. We are those loved by God, saved by grace, and empowered by the Spirit to love God and love our neighbor. This is what a good person looks like—one who loves compassionately, sacrificially, and generously. And love is our greatest witness to the world. I like Carolyn Arend’s version. You can read the lyrics below. Listen here. 

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord (2x).  

And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.  

Refrain: And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.  

They will know we are Christians by our love.

We will work with each other, we will work side by side (2x). 

And we’ll guard each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride. (Refrain).

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand (2x)  

And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land. (Refrain).

Love is patient, love is kind. Never boasts, not full of pride.  

Always hopes, always trusts, The evidence of Christ in us (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8).