Doing the Right Thing

Maybe you heard the story last weekend of the marriage proposal that was botched when the man dropped the ring down a sidewalk grate in New York City. They couldn’t recover the ring, so eventually gave up on the possibility of recovery. However, the NYPD managed to get the ring back, then used social media to track down the couple and return it to them. In any case, she said “Yes.”

Sometimes doing the right thing is a no-brainer, but other times we are faced with difficult decisions. Is it OK to be a little dishonest if no one will ever find out? I really need to get into this school, so I’m willing to cheat if I need to on the entrance exams.I’m pretty sure no one saw me hit that other car, so maybe I’ll just leave quickly before anyone shows up. We face decisions like this–big and small–every day.

It’s not easy doing the right thing when we are faced with the alternative of an immediate benefit. The key is for us to see value in doing right itself. There’s a tremendous amount of satisfaction that can come just from knowing that we took the high road. And God loves that. Even if no one else sees, God always does!

While I was writing this, I happened to receive a video clip of the legendary football coach Lou Holtz with the most appropriate words: “There’s never a right time to do the wrong thing and never a wrong time to do the right thing.”

Blessings,
Pastor Paul Cook