When You Should Not Do What is Right
“You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes….”
Deuteronomy 12:8 (NASB)
Have you ever considered that doing things right could possibly be wrong? The truth is that doing things right may, in fact, be keeping you from doing the right things! That sounds so weird to me because all my life, I’ve been told to do things right! But I’ve discovered that our obsession with doing things right keeps us from doing the right things. We become efficient in doing things right but fail to be effective because we may not be doing the right things.
To simplify our lives and soar, we must do the right things and let go of things that just aren’t worth doing, even if we do them right! This is not a decision between doing right and wrong. It’s more of a decision between doing what is good or doing what is best. The real enemy of the best that God has for us is not doing wrong things but good things that so clutter our lives that we don’t have time to do the right things. Before long, our values get so clouded, and our schedules become so crowded that we miss the best God has for our lives. It’s like cleaning the deck chairs on the Titanic, not realizing it’s a sinking ship.
So, if I’m to stop doing things right and start doing the right things, how will I know what are the right things I should be doing? Great question. Too often, I’ve found myself blinded by culture and convinced myself I was doing things right. Moses warned the second generation of Israelites not to make the same mistake the first generation made that left Egypt, causing them to miss out on the promised land and all that God longed to bless them with – their God-given destiny! That generation became an example of when it is wrong to do right! Moses didn’t want to see another generation fail to experience their destiny, so he told them,
“You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes….” Deut. 12:8 (NASB)
The people were doing only what was right in their own eyes! Whenever we do that, we fail to consult the One who alone has the right to decide what is right and wrong. Isn’t that a picture of our culture today? Truth has become relative, and right and wrong have become self-determined. We’ve removed the absolutes in our culture. Ethics become situational. When I was growing up, there was a popular song with the line, “How can it be so wrong when it feels so right?” The generation before me paved the way with another song: “I Did It My Way.” So, let me ask you, “How is that working for you?” Like us, Israel didn’t really listen to Moses and soon fell to the pressures of the culture around them. They became blinded by their culture, too. In the dark period of the Judges, the Bible says, “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” Judges 21:25 (NLT)
I think those closing words of Judges hold the key to doing the right things. “In those days Israel had no king….” When we fail to go to the source who alone has the right to determine what the right things are, we are subject to making our own determination. We begin to do whatever is right in our own eyes. If I’m to stop doing things right and start doing the right things, I must look to the source of what is right. God alone is righteous. He is the author of what is right. In his book, The Indwelling Life of Christ – All of Him in All of Me, Major W. Ian Thomas writes,
“Righteousness is doing right in God’s eyes, and God alone is the author of righteousness. For any activity of yours or mine to produce righteousness, God Himself must be the source of it. Are you allowing Him to do this in your life?”
If I’m to do the right things and become effective and productive in fulfilling my destiny, I must look to the source of what is right. As I follow Him, He will direct my path so that I’ll not only be doing things right, but I’ll be doing the right things.
Prayer:
Righteous God, You alone know what You created me to do. I confess that I too often get wrapped up in doing things right that I miss out on the right things You’ve called me to do. I repent of that and look to You to direct my path. I choose to follow You. Help me to let go of this idea that I must do everything right, so I can focus on the right things to do. Fill me today with Your Holy Spirit and enable me to do what is right in Your eyes.
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.