Why should I do the right thing when no one else does?

Micah 6:8  “…what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly…”

 

Gal 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing…”

 

Loving a prodigal is a difficult journey, isn’t it? And if that prodigal lives in your home, that journey is uphill all the way. It’s tough. It makes the Boston Marathon look like a walk in the park. And, as runners or walkers do with any hard journey, we’re bound to get tired. How could we not?

 

It was with great interest that I watched my daughter begin the Couch to 5K training program. Could this book reading, television watching, exercise hating intellectual really turn into a lean, mean running machine? I have to admit I was a little skeptical. But to my amazement, she did exactly that. How? According to Margie, she didn’t take a lot of time to analyze it. She just did it. The challenges don’t start off with running your heart out for an hour. They start with small goals that are mostly walking. Because you can’t very well run until you can walk.

 

That applies to our journey as well. We can’t be marathon runners when we haven’t even learned to take baby steps. And all that is really required of us is that we make a beginning. Are we going to be weary? Of course, we are. But aren’t you already weary to the very depths of your soul? I know I am. That admonition in Galatians 6 that says not to be weary in well doing doesn’t mean we won’t get tired or discouraged. It means we keep on going in spite of it.

 

Dr. Wally Beebe was a dear friend of mine, who led me to the Lord and then discipled me. I remember many things he taught me, but one thing that stands out among the rest is the many times he reminded me I had to do the right thing no matter what anyone else was doing. He would pound his fist on his desk (or my desk) and thunder, “You’ve got to be a rock! You’ve got to be the last apple on the tree! Don’t you DARE quit!” He would then go on to tell me the day would come when I was going to need to stand and “having done all, to stand.” (Eph 6:13)

 

I had days like that…days when I felt like I was the only one trying to do the right thing. I still have days like that. And when I do, I remember that Galatians 6 goes on to say I will “reap in due season” if I don’t give up. The God of the harvest has promised His blessing on me if I just continue to do the right thing.

 

I can’t trick or manipulate my prodigal into doing the right thing. Neither can you. Even if it looks like our interference is helping, it’s like putting a bandaid over a festering wound. It may look better, but it does nothing about the infection underneath. Neither can I make excuses for my bad behavior by blaming the prodigal or anyone else. God expects me to do the right thing…to do justly.

 

Challenge for Today: Can you, just for today, continue doing the right thing no matter how weary you are? Can you trust the God of the harvest?

Author's Note

July 8, 2013:
Why should I do the right thing when no one else does?
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