Every day and often several times a day each of us battle with the question of right and wrong. We find ourselves at the moral junction almost once every few days where we are forced to make a choice either to do the right thing or just pick the easy way out. It is important for us to understand that not every easy way out is evil or dangerous, some are just not beneficial, but almost all right choices are demanding and will involve some kind of sacrifice and purposeful determination. As humans we are more preoccupied with our survival and safety than with the question of right or wrong. By default the first thing that comes to our mind is not whether the choice is right or wrong, but whether it is safe or risky.
Determining the right thing to do in a given context is not always easy or obvious, but on occasions when the right thing is obvious what is our motivation to choose it? Last night we were having our family devotions and we were reading from Josh Mc Dowell’s youth devotions. By the way it is an excellent book of devotions for families who have teenagers at home. Here is an excerpt from our devotion:
By default the first thing that comes to our mind is not whether the choice is right or wrong, but whether it is safe or risky.
“POOR JOSEPH. He was minding his own business, working for a man named Potiphar, when the boss’s wife started getting fresh. She said, “Yo, Joe, Come to bed with me” (Genesis 39:7, loose translation). So what did Joseph do? He made a quick dash for the exit! Joseph did the right thing, and you know what? He ended up in prison for it!…Poor Daniel. He was minding his own business, praying to God three times a day in his own room, when the king decreed that for thirty days no one could pray to anyone except the king (Dan 6:1-18). So what did Daniel do? He prayed to God, just as he had always done. Daniel did the right thing, and you know what? He got thrown into a den of lions!”
As we grow older and mature in life we should be able to recognize that doing the right thing in reality will not always be recognized or rewarded.
The author was trying to help young people understand that doing the right thing will not always necessarily have a happy ending. Most parents teach their children to do the right thing and often when the children ask the question why, our answer is either because “IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO” or because you will be rewarded for doing the right thing. Since children are developmentally young it may be ok to give such reasons for doing the right thing, but it is unfortunate that some people grow up and still have rewards as their sole motivation for doing the right thing.
The most common motivation among children for doing the right thing is to be safe, to please people, to stay out of trouble, to be recognized or to be rewarded. As we grow older and mature in life we should be able to recognize that doing the right thing in reality will not always be recognized or rewarded. In fact there is a high chance of our choice being criticized, misunderstood and sometimes we may be even punished or persecuted for the right choice. Even though sometimes doing the right thing may get us some recognition and rewards, very often doing the right thing gets us into odds with some people. If our goal in doing the right thing is to please people, then we can just forget it because there will always be people who will dislike you for doing the right thing.
I think we should do the right thing because it helps us shape our destiny and it pleases God. The greatest motivation for doing the right thing should never be what we get, but what we become because of our choices. What we do or what we chose to do is a good reflection of our inner character; therefore let us continue to do the right thing because it is a mirror of one’s true being. Did you ever wonder what happened to the Good Samaritan who helped the person who was robbed and beaten? I do not think anybody recognized or garlanded him for his kindness at the end of the story; yet he did it anyway because it truly reflected who he was and wanted to be. The next time you hear something like “Yo, Joe, lets…” remember your choice is not only revealing who you are but also going to shape who you are going to become. Never feel sorry for doing the right thing, it’s not about what people think about you, it’s about who you are (child of God) and who you want to become (growing into Christlikeness).
The greatest motivation for doing the right thing should never be what we get, but what we become because of our choices.
– – Author: Rev. Francis Burgula – –
