Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Doing the Right Thing

Scripture

Philippians 4:8
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Devotional
There are times when I wonder if crossing the line is worth it.  There are times when I know I’m breaking a rule, or bending it a bit.  But then I remember, that commitment to humanity falls above all else, my human connection is worth the risk, especially when I know I’ve saved a person’s soul, life or even, if for just a moment ~ helped them feel alive and happy and ready to face the world.  There are times when someone just needs a little help from above and many times that help must go through a mortal here on earth.  God uses people all the time to full fill His plan, and that person some times is me, or you or someone in our lives.

Pay everyone whatever he ought to have: pay your taxes and import duties gladly, obey those over you, and give honor and respect to all those to whom it is due.

There must be a line and someone has to patrol it.   There are authority figures in our lives, without them, the lines get blurred and even the best of us can possibly go too far.  God gave us authority figures for a reason.

When these two situations collide, all parties must look to the answer this:  Collectively, what are we trying to achieve?  Are we trying to help humanity?  Are we trying to do the right thing?  Is there a comfortable place in the middle where we can both feel justice was served?   Unfortunately, sometimes a personal agenda may be getting more attention than the real agenda.  It’s up to the parties involved to move their personal opinions aside and do the right thing, quietly.  If we all have the same goal, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

Prayer

Dear Lord, please help me to always do the right thing, no matter which side of a situation I am on.