Doing the Right Thing – Pt. 2

Doing the right thing is important. In our times and culture it is becoming increasingly less common to do the right thing. Many youth nowadays are not committed to anything except to that which makes them happy—what makes them feel good. But what makes you happy oftentimes does not make God or others happy—often times it is not the right thing. Simply put: doing the right thing is a reflection of your character. I remember few years ago as I got off the bus near my home I saw this long line of cars trying to pass an intersection where there is a stop sign. I thought, “What’s going on? This intersection is never busy because of the stop sign!” Just then I saw a police car parked nearby. When it comes to character my favorite quote is by J.C. Watts who said,

“Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.”

Often times the right thing may not be clear. You may not know what you should do. Few years ago I had a very dear and close friend and we used to talk about our hopes and dreams. One day she told me that she wasn’t sure she would ever meet the right man and get married. I told her, “You better get married, because I wouldn’t get married before you get married!” My reason for saying that was that I loved her and cared about her too much to get married, having my heart’s desired fulfilled, while knowing that her heart’s desire was not fulfilled. A couple of years later our friendship ended and I didn’t hear her news anymore. And I wondered if I should stick by my promise or not. So my brain following this basic logical thinking, “God is faithful and He wants us to be faithful. I will be faithful to my words. I meant them when I said them, so I should stick by them.” And so even thought she cut all contacts with me, and probably could care less about me or my “promise” I decided I should do the right thing. And to me the right thing was that I stand by my words.

Many people would argue against my line of thinking. Some would argue that I didn’t say “I promise…” But the Bible is full of promises God had made to us that didn’t start with “I promise”. God did not say, “I promise I would never leave you nor forsake you”! He just said, “I would never leave you nor forsake you.” It is enough for us to know His faithful character to believe His words without Him having to swear! We should be like Him.

Anyway, I kept my promise for roughly 4 years until I found out that she had gotten married then I knew that I was released from my promise.

Situations like this make you wonder if you did the right thing. Sometimes you won’t get an answer or a confirmation from God or man. Often times you must let your personal and religious beliefs guide you. I usually try to let my understanding of Christianity guide me. Sometimes those beliefs guided me correctly, other time they didn’t. Even my Christian beliefs have changed, many times, in the last 11 years I’ve been a Christian. The Bible is the best guide to doing the right things. While every situation and circumstance are not mentioned specifically, there are however Biblical principles that can guide you to do the right thing through almost all situations you face throughout your life.

My last words are these: When you do right, don’t do it because you expect rewards from God or man. Not that God doesn’t reward righteous and obedient. But sometimes rewards don’t come in the form we expect them and we grow weary of doing good. Sometimes our rewards may not be here on earth. Sometimes we may not get any reward, after all if we do good it is not like we are doing God a favor the Bible says; no, God expects us to do the right thing because it is our duty. Sometimes leading a righteous life is the reward itself. So don’t do the right thing because you want to find a favor in someone’s eyes, expect someone to speak highly of you, or to get something in return—even though sometimes you will get those things. Do the right thing because you are faced with a decision and doing the right thing is the path you will normally choose because that’s how you live your life. Do the right thing because you can’t do otherwise.