Articles From Our Bulletins
Doing Right
“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death,” Proverbs 16:25. “I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps,” Jeremiah 10:23. These two passages, and several others like them, paint a somewhat dim picture of man’s cognitive abilities and intellectual prowess. As much as we might like to think otherwise, we need divine directives and guidance to successfully navigate life. We will surely become eternally “lost” without them!
Society tells us to “trust your heart” and “do whatever you think/feel is right,” but look where that has gotten us. We (as a society, or at least a significant portion thereof): spends untold millions to save animals of every kind, but demand that others pay for us to abort our own children; allow and encourage a child to pick their own gender despite what their DNA and obvious physical traits demand; and, have come to believe that we are the mere happy accidents of nothing creating everything through evolution contrary to simple Cause and Effect logic, cf. Hebrews 3:4. It’s painfully obvious that we don’t do well “on our own,” and should instead heed the wisdom of inspiration to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding,” Proverbs 3:5.
Therefore, let us get back to:
Doing the Right Things
Romans 12:1-2, “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” We need to let God define what is good, acceptable to Him, and a spiritual service rather than doing what we want and then expecting Him to accept it. To accomplish this, we must shun worldly conformity in our thinking, and renew (refresh, retrain, and refocus) our minds in submission to His will rather than our own. As the Holy Spirit directed the Ephesians, learning “what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10) is the first step on the way back!
In the Right Way
Leviticus 10:1-2, “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.” These Levitical priests, whatever their motivations may have been (cf. Leviticus 10:9-11), were doing their appointed duty in worship and service to God, but did not do so in the way prescribed by God in the Law (cf. Leviticus 6:12-13 and Leviticus 16:12). Their offering was one of “which He had not commanded them,” v.1. Though we today are certainly not amenable to this same Law and its prescribed worship practices, Christians are subject to the Christ’s Law contained in the New Testament, surely we can see from this example that God expects and demands that we do the right thing(s) in the right way(s). Both the right things and ways are according to His commands, rather than our own definitions and preferences!
At the Right Time
On the night of His betrayal, and during His last discourse with the Twelve before He was crucified, Jesus told His disciples, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now,” John 16:12. Timing isn’t always “everything” as we are apt to think, but it certainly is important, and can be even vital. Doing the right things in the right way often also requires doing them at the right time. The disciples needed to first see Jesus crucified, gaze into the empty tomb, and witness Him resurrected before “the time” would be right for them to hear everything else He needed to tell them (see Acts 1:3). This same element of the right time is often crucial for us to say what needs to be said so that it may have to proper effect. “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear,” Ephesians 4:32.
Let’s not lean on our own understanding, but instead trust in the Lord with all our hearts in doing “what” He says is right, “how” He says is right, “when” He says is right. Then, you simply cannot be wrong!
- Doing_Right.pdf (72.41 kB)
