Doing Right

Doing Right

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:17

Each day we are given opportunities and free will to choose which road to take in our lives. We may want to cut a few corners when no one is looking. We think about putting ourselves first over others’ needs. Yesterday it was raining and I had to cut my dogs’ walk short for the sake of both of us getting soaked. But he knew he was shortchanged. He stared me down and if a dog can give its’ master a scowl, I got one! I have heard it said before and I chuckle at the thought: my goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am. There is some truth to this!!

Are you a person that others expect the best from, always trying to do right? Or are you that person that is known for lazy half-heartedness? But to go even further, if you are doing right to the best of your ability, but don’t have a loving attitude about it, there is no joy reaching heaven. The sweetness of a heart full of love for others, joined with a willingness to do the right thing, is a blessing to everyone. Aren’t we drawn to people like that? We study them, trying to learn from them and emulate their kind actions.  Well, you may say, “so many people do the right thing and they don’t seem to gain a thing by doing it”. But what we may miss would be the peace and joy that lives on the inside of a that person. Their riches are not measured by the things they have built or stored but by the lives they have touched. “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3