The Butterfly Effect of Good Deeds: How Our Actions Make a Profound Difference

Do our deeds make a difference?

In 1963, the scientist Edward Lorenz made a radical observation.

The flap of a butterfly’s wing could move a tiny amount of air. That would stir other air. Molecule upon molecule build up with activity. Soon, a hurricane would spin up on the other side of the planet.

He called it “the butterfly effect.

His fellow scientists laughed.

Twenty years later, research confirmed Lorenz’s theory. It now goes by the name of the Law of Sensitive Dependence.

What does this have to do with us? You never know the good you do.

It sounds trite, but is also true. Yet, few recognize it.

Charles Adams didn’t.

Charles Francis Adams was the U. S. Ambassador to Great Britain during the Civil War. His job was massive: to keep the British out of the war.

His son, Brooks, kept a daily journal. One day, his post said, “ “Went fishing with my father; the most glorious day of my life.”

Unknown to the eight-year-old Brooks, his father also commented on the day. “Went fishing with my son; a day wasted.”

Last Sunday, it became clear to me.

On October 15, 2023, I retired, and the church hosted a luncheon in my honor. (I do not feel I deserved it, but I still feel honored.) In it were 116 cards written by members.

My wife Vickie and I read them on Sunday afternoon for three hours.

One thing struck me. Many mentioned things I had done—hospital visits, notes written and mailed, classes taught.

It perplexed me. I remembered very little of those events. None seemed monumental then, and they had leaked out of my memory.

Yet, years and decades later, the receiver remembers when the giver did not.

I did not know the good I did.

Actions have unintended consequences. Not only do they help the person, but they also help the person help another. As social creatures, we mimic. The more good a person sees, the more good they can do.

Each causes its own “butterfly effect.” The flap of a single wing results in a hurricane down the stream of time.

In Matthew 25, Jesus pulled back the curtain on the judgment day. He pictures two groups of people standing before the throne of Christ as he speaks to both.

To one group (whom Matthew called “the sheep”) he says:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’” (Matthew 25:34–36, ESV)

They protest.

“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’” (Matthew 25:37–39, ESV)

But Jesus frames the perspective. You don’t know the good you do.

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40, ESV)

You may never know. But even without knowing, do good anyway. Something happens, unseen and unknown.

So do good today. You never know the good you do.