GOOD DEEDS

“No good deed goes unpunished”. Who came up with that saying? If we all accepted that quote as the absolute truth, I doubt we’d ever perform any charitable deeds or contribute to any charitable cause. But we do raise our hands and volunteer to join this committee or that board. We do reach into our pockets to contribute to this school activity or that scout fundraiser. Perhaps those are not the types of good deeds for which we are punished. The good deeds that come back to bite us are the silent, less obvious to the recipient deeds. You volunteer to work Christmas Eve so your co-worker can spend the evening with her small children. You mow your neighbor’s lawn when you learn he’s been hospitalized. You invite a friend to dinner because she sounded a little depressed when she called. Lo and behold! Your co-worker accuses you of depriving her of overtime hours. When your neighbor returns home, he comments about the hack job someone did on his lawn. Your depressed friend calls the next day to tell you she thinks she has food poisoning. But you were only trying to help!