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One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.
do what's right
the right choice for me
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We all want to do what's right for us, and I think most people want to do what's right. We've got a problem, though, if we don't start with knowing and doing what is right. Just right period. Not right for me or someone else or for a particular situation, but very simply what is RIGHT.
As a Christ-follower, I believe that God defines right and wrong in his word, the Bible, and that's the standard we need to understand. It's the only standard that matters. Sometimes people say the laws and rules in the Bible are outdated and irrelevant, or that there are too many, or whatever. But here's the thing - God summed it up for us in a few places. Easy to remember basics.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
~Micah 6:8~
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" And he [Jesus] said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
~Matthew 22:36-40~
These are the things that are right - acting in justice, showing mercy, loving God whole-heartedly and above everything else, and loving others as we love ourselves. Those aren't always easy things to do, but most of the time we can figure out what fits that criteria. If we love God and love others and prioritize justice and mercy, we'll be doing what is right. And then from that place, we have the freedom to make the specific choices that are right for us or for our families.
Wanting justice to be done is right. The generosity of mercy is also right. But mercy is cheap if there is no justice, no acknowledgment that something was wrong and needs to be made right.
Raising our children to love God and others, to love justice and mercy - that is right. How we live that out in our families involves a lot of choices about how we do what is right in ways that are right for our families. Which translation of the Bible we prefer? Choose what's right for you. Whether to homeschool or go to private school or public school? Choose what will be best and right for your kids.
Being part of a community of believers is right. Which particular community of believers and how to participate in that community? I can make the choice that's right for me and my family.
And so many more examples. Once we settle the basics of doing what God tells us is right, we can better wrestle with the choices of what is right for us as individuals and as families. It's not always easy to know what's best, or to do the thing we know is right, but we can have a firm foundation from which to start. And we can always turn to God for help, and he promises to help us know and do what is right.
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This post is linked at Five Minute Friday for the word prompt "Right".
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