Do Right Prov. 20:11 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
We often speak of yielding to the righteousness of Jesus Christ in us so that the Holy Spirit will conform us to the image of Jesus. You can see how yielding to the righteousness of Jesus would help a fellow to keep from struggling to live up to the standard of Christ’s righteousness. He is not working to match Christ’s perfect standard; he is yielding to Jesus to manifest his perfect righteousness in him, instead.
With that said, there are many times when a man just needs to have the character to do the right thing. In other words, he is not working to prove his own righteousness; he is just guided by doing the right thing every time he is given a choice to do something. For instance, if a young Christian is asked to go party with his friends, he doesn’t have to go to his prayer closet and sort this decision out with the Lord. He just needs to do the right thing and stay away from the party. It is that simple.
So, this broadcast is a simple exhortation to get you to do the right thing every time you are presented with an opportunity to do the wrong thing. As Bob Jones, Sr. said, “Do right.” Do right…
Even when everyone else is doing wrong – Prov 11:21. It doesn’t make any difference if the whole world has slipped into unrighteousness. If they are doing wrong you must stand and do right. That’s what Noah did, Gen 6:5-9. That’s what Enoch did, Jude 14-15. You see doing right pleases God, Heb 11:5-6. And we are here for his pleasure, Rev 4:11. We used to drive fast when a caravan of cars was exceeding the speed limit. A friend got pulled over doing this once and when he asked the patrolman why he picked him out of the group, the officer replied, “You were the only fool that stopped.”
Even when you can get away with doing wrong – Ecc 8:11. For one thing, you never truly “get away with it”. There will be a judgment someday. But in truth if you could get away with doing something wrong and you know you would never be caught would you do it? Be honest. If you would, then you have discovered a weakness in your character. A man with a good character would not do wrong even if he could get away with it. And that is not something you see much these days. Many high profile athletes have lied about PED’s. Many high profile executives and politicians have lied about adultery. They got caught doing wrong and then tried to cover their tracks. The trouble is that they have little to no character.
Even when doing right will cost you – Ps 15:4. Doing right has cost many men who could have escaped with little to know damage if they had just decided not to do right. It cost the apostles their lives to do right, Acts 4:19-20; 5:29. It cost Jesus his life to do right at the cross. This will cost many Tribulation saints their lives to do right, Rev 2:10. You can’t do right and get away with it. At some point there is going to be a cost and you might as well make up your mind now that you will pay at any price to do right. It can cost you your friends, your family, your job, your reputation, even your life. But you will never have to face God and explain why you didn’t do the right thing when you had the opportunity, Est 4:15-17.
Even when doing right will cost someone else – Gen 22:1-2. The last thing a true father would ever do is harm his own son. Yet, the right thing to do is the right thing to do no matter who it affects or how much it costs. A basketball team won a game at the last second when the ball went through the hoop at the buzzer. After the jubilant crowd quieted just a bit, the announcer indicated that the last basket did not count. The “winning” coach ran to the scoring table to protest. You see, this was in the days when the ball had to go through the hoop before the time expired. The scorer told the coach that the time keeper was watching the clock and the ball and that the ball was still on the rim when time expired. The coached couldn’t hear the buzzer because the crowd roared so loudly. At this news, the coach turned to the time keeper and asked him directly, “Are you sure that the basket did not count?” The young time keeper affirmed that the ball had not fallen into the basket in time. The coach sighed in disappointment, shook the opposing coach’s hand and then turned to the time keeper and said, “Come on, Son, let’s go to the house.”
Even when you just don’t want to – Prov 10:23. Sometimes we just get that wild streak in us and we are determined to pursue a thought to foolish mischief. Let it go. There are a lot of men behind bars right now who can truly testify that they were in the wrong place, with the wrong crowd at the wrong time and it cost them dearly. Two underage girls decided to have fun on St. Patrick’s Day one year in Pensacola. They went to a pub and drank. Later that night they crossed the 3 mile bridge in the wrong lane and died in a head-on collision. Four teenagers went joy riding one night in George West. They were just having fun on a caliche road. At a turn, the driver lost control of the car and flipped it. The car caught fire and they were all burned to death. They were out doing the wrong thing.
Conclusion: Doing right may not always be fun and it may be down right costly. But it is the right thing to do. And if you make it a practice to always do right then you WILL always do right.