Do the Right Thing

Photo by Jerry Kiesewetter (Unsplash)

When I hear “do the right thing’, the first thing that comes to my mind is the Spike Lee movie, or joint as he likes to call it. I guess that is because I am a child of the 80’s. But, as a Christian, this should pop into my head each time I have a decision to make. This is the mantra that we should all live our lives by. Why? The simple answer is because that is how Jesus lived. And, as Christians we should want to be more like Jesus; to love and serve others as He did.

Jesus always did the right thing.

But, we are not Jesus. And, I don’t know about you, but doing the right thing can sometimes be very, very hard. Heck, I would venture to say that most the time, doing the right thing is hard. At least, I know it is for me. Why is that??

My first gut instinct is to answer because we are human and we are sinful by nature. While our spirit may want to do what is right, our humanly selves often chose what feels good—not what is right.

This has been at the forefront of my mind a lot lately. Unfortunately, it is because I find myself in a situation where I am struggling to “do the right thing”. In this case, I am not even sure if I know what the right thing is. I have been praying about it. I have talked it over with my husband, who is very grounded and always gives thoughtful and sage advice. I have done research and reading online. I guess I want this situation to magically fix itself. And, maybe with God's help, it can.

(Although, as a side bar, I did come across this fabulous blog post on SheWorksHISWay by Katie McCoy called “Are You a Woman of Kindness…Or Just a Nice Woman?”. And, holy cow—what an insightful, interesting read. Please do yourself a favor and read it after you finish reading this! Being kind and being nice are two VERY different things. Being kind can sometimes mean being tough and strong, something we don’t often think of as going together. And, in my humble opinion, it goes right along with this topic of doing the right thing.)

I want to do what is right. I want to take the high road. I truly believe that we reap what we sow, or in karma, as some people refer to it. I believe in the golden rule and do my best to live it. The problem is that other people don't seem to think the same way I do.

I can't be the only one who feels this way.

In-the-meantime, I will focus on this Bible verse from Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

I don’t know about you, but I want to reap. I want to reap good. So, I must plant good. Even when I don’t want to. This way my conscience will allow me sleep at night. Plus, God will remember it and He will reward me for it one day.

In the Bible, God tells us to “love our enemies” and to do good to everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” This is extremely hard to do, especially when it comes to your enemies or people you don’t like. But, do it we must, as we are told to by God. I have to remind myself of this often.
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Actually, this is exactly why I have 1 Timothy 6:12 tattooed on my wrist, so I remember to fight the good fight. And, there is no doubt about it, this is a fight. But I will rise above it. This is one fight I intend to win!