Right is Right

Proverbs 12:1-10

A few years ago, I ordered a watch. It was a very nice Swiss-made watch advertised for the rugged outdoorsman. Well, of course I figured that meant me. This was a new line of products for the company, so they were offering the watch at an unbelievable introductory price. They practically made me buy it.

I ordered one and it was beautiful. Very impressive. What a deal. But for some unexplainable reason there were two identical watches in the box. I was certain I had only ordered one. I checked the invoice and sure enough, I had ordered and paid for one watch. Now what to do?

It was not a difficult question, I needed to return one. Someone made an obvious mistake. When I called to explain and ask about the return procedure, I expected accolades about my honesty. Thank you so much for your integrity. Wow, I’ll bet you’re a preacher or something! Praise you, praise you.

What I got was, we’ll send you a shipping label and you’ll have to take it to such and such a place to ship it back.That’s it. Really? No, thank you? No applause? No accolades? Nothing. The person on the phone could not have cared less. I must say, they made doing the right thing very inconvenient.

I had a similar thing happen at one of the home improvement stores. They had failed to charge me for a couple items. I didn’t realize it until I got home so I drove 20 miles back to town to let them know of their mistake. Again, I expected some appreciation for my troubles. Something like, wow, what an honest guy you are. How about a gift card for your troubles (for the record, it was a 40 mile trip for their mistake). Surely the employees would gather around the register and break out in thunderous applause. I’ll probably be up for customer of the year or maybe this is some investigation to see how honest preachers are in our city. Yay me!

Nothing. I mean nothing. I went back to the same checker to explain what had happened. She looked at me, rang up the items she had missed before, and stared at me. I paid, she nodded and turned her attention to the next customer. She literally didn’t say a word. The best word I could use to describe her was annoyed. I guess she was annoyed that I hadn’t cheated the store by taking merchandise I didn’t pay for. Sigh!

The temptation to be dishonest next time is there. If they don’t care, why should I? They made the mistake, not me. No one would know. But at the end of the day, right is right. Regardless of how rude or unappreciative the employees were, I did the right thing. That’s what mattered most. In a culture like ours today, we’d better get used to no one applauding right choices. The employees didn’t care. They weren’t impressed. It wasn’t coming out of their pocket. In both situations there was no sense of how this impacted the tribe. It didn’t impact their paycheck so who cares?

But we need to remember, God knows. He applauds. Honesty is required for flourishing in any environment. True integrity has a lot to do with what you do when no one is watching. Anyone can put on a good show when people are watching. But if you could get away with it?...

What prohibits bad behavior for many today is fear of getting caught, shamed, or punished. It’s not about right and wrong. It’s about fear of consequences. So if that fear is diminished then right and wrong become irrelevant. In many cases, if people can get away with sin, they’ll do it. Most people don’t really buy into relativism. They all have issues they believe are right and wrong. Rather, relativism today is simply an excuse to do as I please without consequence. Of course, God hasn’t agreed to this new morality.

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. A good man will obtain favor from the LORD, but He will condemn a man who devises evil. A man will not be established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will not be moved. The wicked are overthrown and are no more but the house of the righteous will stand.

No one can beat the system. Choices have consequences whether anyone else knows or not. God knows. Those who do right, even when it disadvantages them, receive favor from the LORD. The root of the righteous will not be moved, the righteous will stand. Put another way, those who do right ultimately win.  Maybe not always on this earth now, but when the story is over the wicked are overthrown and the righteous will stand.

The Proverbs adds this, a righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, but even the compassion of the wicked is cruel. What does that mean? In the ancient world animals were not pets like we think of them today. There were no organizations looking out for the welfare of the animals. No one cared if the animals were abused. Because they could abuse them, they did.

Because the wicked were motivated by selfish ambition, even their compassion was done to benefit themselves. In other words, they gained in some way from their act of compassion. In the end they were still using others (animals or humans) for selfish gain. Proof of this would be evident as soon as the person or animal no longer benefited them. The compassion would quickly turn to cruelty as the true heart of the wicked is exposed.

But the righteous aren’t like that. True flourishing includes a respect for God and all His creation. A man who treats his animals well, will likely treat his neighbors well. The Tzadik respects all God’s creation. It’s a reflection of His kind and compassionate heart. The wicked use and abuse animals just like they do people. They’ll do whatever is needed to advantage themselves, at least whatever they can get away with.

The righteous do right simply because it’s right. Even the animals benefit from a heart that is seeking shalom. It doesn’t matter if anyone else sees or if others don’t care. The righteous aren’t performing a show. They’re simply being righteous.

So, here’s a couple questions to ponder. What do you excuse when no one is looking that you would not do if someone was watching? Who are you in private and how does that compare with who you present yourself to be in public? How do you treat God’s good creation? Remember, the righteous man has regard for the life of his animal. The animals can’t report abuse, but God sees. Right is right, that’s how the righteous live. Even his animals flourish.