Wednesday; July 2
Have you noticed how easy it is to justify what we do? Just about anything is allowable so long as we have a good explanation to go along with it. When I was growing up, I was often told that the “Ends don’t always justify the means.”. Unfortunately, for too many of us, as long as we can explain away what we have done or what we want to do, we feel justified in doing it. While I would like to blame this type of mindset on modern society, the truth of the matter is that the world has always been this way. Even the wise man, Solomon, noticed it when he observed, “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.” (Proverbs 21:2). Thankfully, for the sake of righteousness, Solomon reminds us that just because we feel justified, that doesn’t mean that God will approve! (And after all, isn’t His affirmation what matters the most?)
As I reflected on this concept, I thought of three questions that might help us gain an accurate evaluation of the righteousness of our actions. When we are about to undertake a questionable activity, let’s ask ourselves:
- * Will God approve of our actions?
- * Will society be better because of what we have done?
Let’s not
try to fool others into accepting what we do.
More importantly, let’s not get to where we can fool ourselves by
excusing what we do when we violate the principles of righteousness.
Think About It!