Doing the right thing?

I have been pretty quiet for a while now. Usually Susan writes and I just procrastinate. Not today.

Luke 6:31 is the verse I am stuck on or maybe God wants it to stick on me. In the NIV it says, "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

I had a friend named Donald. Years ago Donald drove a small delivery truck for work. One day while he doing his route and this guy in the car behind is honking his horn and signaling for Donald to pull over. Not knowing what was happening Donald pulled his truck over and the guy walked up to the cab of Donald's truck. Donald rolled his window down to see what the guy wanted, When he did, the guy punched him in the face, knocking Donald senseless. The guy got back in his car and drove away.

So i am driving down the road this last Thursday. In the lane to my right is a motorhome/RV. All of a sudden a RV starts pulling into my lane so I honk my horn but it keeps on coming over. So I have to slam on my brakes and turn into the middle turn lane to avoid a collision. Am I happy? Not one little bit. I had this moment where I wanted to get even with this guy. Doesn't he know who I am and how he just mistreated me? If I go there in my mind I forget the fact that THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND ME!!

So am I some spiritual giant that remembers immediately those words of Jesus in Luke 6:31? That's a rhetorical question! Heck no, but what I am doing is practicing doing the right thing. During the course of my day I make choices, some are right and some are wrong. How do I know the difference? It's funny but a lot of the time the right choice is not necessarily the easy choice. Sometimes those choices are contrary to the way I want to behave or to my best interest. Sometimes I have to get out of myself and do the thing that is beneficial to the other person. Sometimes I have to tell the truth, even when it comes with the risk of rejection or anger.

Have you ever kept silent when something was wrong and then kicked yourself later for your silence? I hate the feeling of having missed the opportunity to say or do something you know you should, but you won't move. You won't take a chance. You play it safe and it turns out that you missed a great opportunity to let God work. Having said all that, if i ask God's help to see how to apply Luke 6:31 to our situation before we act or speak, we are much more likely to be perceived as caring and not a self seeker.

But not always and that's okay! Easy does it . . .But do it!

Hold fast

Mike