There is a phrase in our early 21st century American lexicon that I find mildly amusing. I hear it on TV and in movie dialogue. On occasion I even hear it in everyday use. The phrase that I am referring to is, “do the right thing.” No doubt you’ve caught this catchy little phrase in your experience, too.
Doing the right thing is something, of course, that everyone wants to do. Somehow right behavior is something that is imbedded deep in the human psyche. Even criminals. non-conformists, and the unbalanced want to “do it right”. Whatever endeavor that may be.
We can find this in our Bible as well. Doing right is a theme that is woven throughout the Bible. Early on in Genesis, we find God doing the right thing as he occupies himself with creation. For six days we find the Godhead agreeing with himself that “it is good”. In creating the universe and everything in our world, God had “done the right thing”. The only time we find that God says of his creation that something is amiss is when God has created man without woman. But, God soon set about continuing his creative act.
A bit later in Genesis 18, we find God paying Abraham a visit.
The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.(Genesis 18:1-3)
During this visit God has some amazing things to reveal to Abraham. One was the fact that Sarah would conceive in her old age and the other was that God was about to deal with Sodom. This disturbed Abraham, since he knew folks that lived there, and Abraham asks God, “What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen 18:24) God assures Abraham that He will do the “right thing”.
The fact is that mankind is created in God’s image. No wonder we instinctively long to “do the right thing. However, there is one small problem with the human condition - sin. No matter how intent we are on doing right, we are never able to be completely right and very often are horrifically wrong while thinking we are right. Oops! At least we are in good company, that of every human who ever lived.
In fact, for the next four books after Genesis, God sets out how to do right in response to Israel‘s telling God, in essence, “just tell us what right is and we‘ll do it.” Of course, a lot of the old testament tells us how this worked out.
For instance, the underlying theme of the book of Judges is, “ In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.” We find this theme stated no less than three in the book of Judges.
Judges 17:6, 18:1, and 21:25. Sounds sort of like what we have today, isn’t it. “Do the right thing” has no reference to any particular standard, does it?
So that would leave us to decide on a standard for how right is right. Now, one would have thought that the wisest man in the world, King Solomon would have that one figured out. But Solomon says twice, in the book of Proverbs, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 15:12 & 16:25) . . . and if that wasn’t enough, he drives the point home with this one. “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” (Prov 12:15) Well, at least he gives some clue to fools like me.
Since God has written and preserved the Bible for those who will read it and more pointedly, believe it, let us assume that He is then writing to those who are want to seek the Bible’s advice. Well, that offers some hope as to where to get advice.
How do you suppose those, of our examples, in the New Testament fared with all this advice at hand? Well, the disciples had the most complete source of advice right at hand, Jesus. But, until the disciples receive the Holy Spirit they all seem to be completely clueless. Like having their Mom’s ask Jesus for favors and arguing about who’s the best disciple. Hmmm, no help there.
Well, maybe Paul got it a little better. He didn’t have a bunch of spiritual siblings to complete with. When we first meet Paul, then called Saul, he is off on a dedicated mission doing what he thinks is the “right thing” in arresting and killing followers of Jesus. OK, not a good example, but then Jesus straightens him out. So he does the different “right thing” in arguing with the Jews in Damascus in favor of the Messiah, Jesus, and they form a conspiracy to kill him. “But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.” (Acts 9:25) A prime example that if one ardently is dedicated to doing the “right thing” it may result in his becoming a “basket case”. This time it took Paul about 17 years to figure out what the “right thing” was before he came back and wrote what is now most of the New Testament. Although with the Bible already having been written, you and I are not going to write much more, except to add our own little chapters onto the end of Acts.
On the other hand, Peter ( yes the same foot in mouth, deny Jesus 3 times before the rooster crows twice, Peter) does give us some encouragement.
“Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” (Acts 10:34-35) So, it is really possible to “do the right thing” after all.
Paul does give us this insight into how to approach our attitude when we think we know what is right in Romans 2.
17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew ( or Christian, the terms would be nearly interchangeable, here - BKB) ; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God;
18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;
19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark,
20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth--
(Gee, these guys certainly seem to be convinced that they know what is right - BKB)
21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
23 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
24 As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."
. . . oops.
I have noticed, in my own life, that when I think I have a firm grasp of what’s right and go charging off with it,on my bleached charger, that God is always faithful to have a low hanging branch right in my path, about the altitude of my Adams apple. . . .thud.
Well how then can we know what is right. We all want to do it and if the most Godly men in history have goofed it up what possible chance do we have?
Therein is exactly our hope. Do you remember the proverb, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 15:12 & 16:25) ? Let’s consider this for a moment.
Perhaps you have noticed that sometimes, in Hebrew teaching, the Psalms and Proverbs especially, the Hebrews employ a certain means of opposites to emphasize their point. They will use opposites to heighten our understanding. For example, consider these first 4 verses of Proverbs 10:
1 The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
2 Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death.
3 The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
4 Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
Not all verses are given this treatment, but it does seem to imply that there may be merit in applying it to others. So let’s try it out on , “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 15:12 & 16:25) and see what we get.
I think it would go something like this:
There is a way that seems completely out of control or goofed up, to a man, that in the end, leads to life.
Now, can we find some examples of this in the Bible? Well, let’s see: Joseph being sold into Egyptian slavery, wrongly accused of rape and thrown into Pottifur’s prison; Daniel in the Lion’s den; Shadrack, Meshack, and Abendigo in the furnace; David running from King Saul and hiding out in caves; David & Bathshiba; Ruth staying with her mother-in-law; Raehab the harlot; the book of Esther; Paul getting snake bit on Creete; and Jesus being nailed to the cross. You can probably find more with a careful reading of scripture.
Isn’t that odd? How can some thing that seems right lead to death, as we have seen, and something really fowled up lead to life? Well, here is another proverb that may shed some light.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3: 5&6)
When we are convinced that we know what is right we usually go roaring off under the steam of our own understanding. (Watch out for low hanging branches!!)
How about this one?
Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. (John 5: 19)
Please notice that Jesus does not say that he does what is “right”. But always what he sees the Father doing. If Jesus, who is the example for those who believe Him does this, what business do believers have doing what is “right?
In the end it is a very dangerous supposition to think that we know what is right. In fact it is a subtle illusion and lie of our enemy to think that we may know how to do the right thing, because , then we would be “like God”, who does know all that is right and how to do the right thing. Sound familiar? (ref Gen 3:5) Our concept of what it means to “know what is right” is far different from God's. In Isaiah 51, however, God says, "Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults.
Ok, so what is right? How are we to know what is the “right thing to do”?
Let’s see what Paul writes in 2Corinthinan 2:
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not peddlers of God's word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence. (2Cor 2: 14-16)
There is the answer. What is the motive for doing the “right thing”, to what end? For the believer it not doing right in order to be right, but rather to, “spread in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him.” That is our purpose and the “right thing“ for a follower of Jesus Christ.
We will never be wise enough to know how to do that on our own, but rather, the right thing for a believer of Jesus is to, stand in His presence and only do what we see Him doing.
Otherwise, as Paul points out in verse 17, “For we are not peddlers of God's word like so many. . .“ We become used religion salesmen. “. . . but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.”
We are never to know how to “do the right thing”. Sometimes circumstances are clear, but often they are not and our opposition is too clever for us, so we must stand and not rely upon our own understanding, in His presence.
“There is a way that seem all fouled up to a man, that in the end, leads to life.”
Jesus please increase out trust in these times. Amen.
Bruce K. Bates
Feb 4, 2002
Colorado Springs, CO.