Doing The Right Thing

by

Pastor B.J. Knefley

There’s a lot going on in our world right now. Politics, COVID, human rights, freedom, elections, are just a couple of the things that are in the news on a regular basis. Everyone seems to have an opinion, but after all opinions are often just that, opinions.

There’s an interesting passage from the scriptures that states: “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”

(Proverbs 14:12). The problem of course is that it “seems right”. It makes me wonder; do we think about what we’re doing? Do we review our direction, and ask the critical questions along the way? Or do we just plod along on the same old path? Isn’t that sort of like doing the same thing over and over expecting different results?

The Rotarians have what is called the Four-Way test. It is a moral code for business and personal relationships. This is the test:

1.     Is it the truth?

2.     Is it fair to all concerned?

3.     Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

4.     Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Seems simple enough doesn’t it, so why can’t it be practiced. Personally, it seems to relate really well to “Doing the Right Thing”. Not because it’s profitable to you or a group, but simply because it’s right. It’s a position that will not always be popular and it may go against what “seems” to be the right path. Too often we ask the wrong question simply because we’re asking it from a perceived agenda or thought.

I like the Four-Way Test because it gives a chance to pause and think. Too often we don’t think. We run ahead without engaging our thought and in the end, we stumble into a huge mess of our own doing. Isn’t that what a Dildine does? Perhaps, just perhaps we need to pause and think first and ask the question “Is it the right thing?” Think about it.