The Right Way is Usually the Easiest

My father use to tell me all the time that it is just easier to do the right thing. His reasoning went something like this- if you steal then you have to lie to cover it up, then you have to tell another lie for that lie and the web grows thicker and thicker. As a child growing up I always liked to challenge this theory to see what I could get away with when my idea of right didn't add up to his. Pretty soon I found out that I ended up working twice as hard as I needed to in order to "get by with something".

When I take this basic philosophy that Dad had to the scriptures I find that God also said similar things. "There is a way that seems right to a man but it's end is death" (Prov 14:12), "A little leaven leavens the whole lump" (1 Cor 5:6) and others I could point to that shows when we try and change or go around God's way we end up in a mess that could and should have been avoided had we just done things the right way.

I am mindful of marriages that haven't been "taken care of" over the years that come to an end with bitterness and divorce. People who once took a vow to love one another and support one another: "in sickness and in health for richer or poorer", that now 25 years later don't know each other and don't really like who they or the other person has become.

I am mindful of congregations who still have no leadership because men don't take care of what they should throughout the years. Groups that have a median age of 60+ and no men qualified to serve as one of the Lord's elders. When we are young we believe we are invincible and lie to ourselves saying: "I'll settle down when I get older", or "what I do now has no effect on my family or our future". Sure we don't see the problems that we create when we skip worshipping with the saints for vacation or ball games or the Superbowl or just because we don't see Sunday nights, Wednesday nights or gospel meetings as "mandatory". What message do we send our children and our families when we lead them this way? Is it any wonder why many after their children are grown and leave the nest wonder why they aren't faithful. Wonder what could have gone wrong- I still come why don't they?

It is easier to fix our marriages and our worship services when we "work as we go" instead of trying to play "catch up" years later. I always tell those that work for me to get me involved when it's a problem before it becomes a mess. Problems can be fixed-messes need to be cleaned up. I challenge all those that are reading this to devote time now to working on your marriage and to preparing yourself for service in the kingdom. Don't look back on your life and try to fix it or wonder what if. Today is the day for us to work- tomorrow may never come and yesterday is already gone.


We can choose to do things God's way-The right way or we can choose to go our way-the hard way. I hope that we can heed the warning my father gave me- The right way is the easiest.
MPE