By: Annagail Lynes
A lot of traffic zipped through the driveway that we shared with the apartment complex behind us. Ninety percent of the traffic stopped at the very last apartment. Every day at 3 pm, the man who lived there would walk his dog to the end of the driveway and talk to someone on his cell phone.
Suspecting that he was selling drugs, we alerted the police. The neighbor next door to him reemed us out, telling us that we should have minded our own business. Not caring about the two children that lived two doors down from the drug dealer.
Have you ever been teased, or harrassed, for doing the right thing? You are not alone.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:10-13).
The prophets before you were persecuted for doing good, for doing what is right. So you and I are in good company.
These days it seems as if bad is rewarded and good is punished.
A man dropped change into other people’s parking meters, just to be nice, and what did he get? The police brought charges against him.
Yet no formal charges will be brought against the football player who sexually assaulted a woman here in Arizona.
Celebrities steal, kill, drive drunk and rape and come out with community service, if not just a slap on the wrist.
But if you were to help a lost child find his mother, you could be charged with kidnapping. If you knew your boss was stealing money from the company, and you were to tell the higher-ups, you could be fired for whistleblowing.
When did doing the right thing become the wrong thing to do?
The line between right and wrong has been blurred by our “enlightened” society.
Judges rule on murder, theft and purgery cases every day, but they have taken the Ten Commandments down from the walls of their courthouses. The same principles that founded this country. By removing the Ten Commandments is like telling murderers, thieves and people who bare false witness it is okay to kill, to steal and to lie. Again, the line blurs.
Judge Roy Moore is taken off the bench for not taking down the Ten Commandments. Women are encouraged to have abortions. Women kiss other women on television. The line is so blurred now that most people don’t even know where the line used to be.
The same thing happened in the Bible.
Noah, told by God to build a boat when he had never seen rain, was ridiculed by his neighbors. In the end, his neighbors were all wet. Literally. The flood swallowed them up.
Joseph was his father’s favorite son. His brothers were angered by it, so they sold Joseph into slavery. His boss’ wife demanded that he sleep with her. When he ran away from her, she ripped off a piece of his clothing. She went to her husband, crying, “Joseph raped me.”
Joseph was promptly thrown in jail.
How did God compensate him?
Eventually, Joseph was made second-in—charge over the land of Egypt.
Job stayed close to God. But when his servants and kids died, his sheep and shepherds were killed, his donkeys were stolen and he developed boils, his friends and wife were quick to point out that it must have been something he did. God was mad at him, they told him.
Job prevailed, though, God healed him and blessed him with more cattle, sheep and children. And hopefully, new friends and a better attitude for his wife.
And what about Jesus? He was sentenced to the Cross. Why? Because He went about doing good. He performed miracles. He cast out demons. He raised people from the dead. He was beaten, spit on and mocked for being the Messiah that the people just refused to recognize.
What did Jesus do? He refused to say anything in His defense. Why? Because if He had, He wouldn’t have went to the Cross. If He had said anything, the plan of salvation would have been aborted.
But doing the right thing isn’t about what you get out of it, or if you are compensated for the hurt feelings and trouble you have to endure. Doing the right thing is about you and God.
When you do the right thing, you glorify God. You are also racking up points in your own spiritual bank.
You make deposits in your bank when you do the right thing–being honest, helping others, etc. You make withdrawals when you lie, cheat, steal, when you do anything contrary to the Word of God. And whether you want to or not, you are building character and forming habits that will be hard to break later.
You have to stand for something, or you will fall for anything. You must stand up for what you believe, as long as it lines up with the Word of God.
Jesus, when being led to the Cross, was standing up for what He believed in. He believed in the work He had to do on the Cross more than He believed in defending Himself. He had to do His Father’s business.
And so do you. You have to be about the plan God has for your life, and about living your life according to the Will of God. Otherwise, you life may be fun, but it will be aimless and lost.
People are going to ridicule, make fun of, what they don’t understand, and doing the right thing has become something people just don’t understand.
How do you deal with being persecuted for doing the right thing?
Ask yourself these questions: will confronting the people involved hurt or help me do the Will of God? Will my Witness for God be helped or hurt by keeping quiet? Then pray about the situation.
Confront the problem only when you feel God leading you to do so. There are times to confront and times not to. And only God can help you determine which ones are which.
Doing the right thing is a decision we have to make every day. Five, ten, maybe one-hundred times a day.
No doubt somewhere a long the way someone will tell you that doing the right thing is close-minded and old-fashioned, but just remember the higher plan God has for your life.
Keep your eyes focused on glorifying God in your actions and ignore everyone else’s opinion. God’s opinion is the only one that counts. When you do right by Him, He will do right by you.
As the Hebrew National Hot Dog commercial says, “We answer to a higher authority.”
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