Augustine is credited with saying, "Right is right, even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it."
In Psalm 15, David asks the rhetorical questions: "LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?" After listing characteristics, he concludes: "He that doeth these things shall never be moved" (Psalm 15:5).
Second on the list for an unmovable person is: "He that … worketh righteousness." To "Work Righteousness" is To Do What Is Right.
So, what is right?
Many in Moses' day chose to do what was "right in his own eyes" (Deuteronomy 12:8). Many in the days of the Judges did what was "right in their own eyes" (Judges 17:6; 21:25). Solomon wrote: "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts" (Proverbs 21:2). Furthermore, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise"(Proverbs 12:15). Some base their standard of righteousness off of selfishness, some the situation at hand (e.g., peer pressure), and some the size of the crowd (e.g., majority, or popularity).
The Bible tells us, "The statutes of the LORD are right" (Psalm 19:8). God is right. His Word is right. If I want to do what is right, I need to listen to God. What is truly right is not decided by our feelings, opinions, traditions, or scruples (conscientiousness). King David was not perfect, but he was described as a man who "did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD" (1 Kings 15:5). King Asa was not perfect, but he was described as a man who "did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father" (1 Kings 15:11).
J.C. Watts is credited with saying, “Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking.”
Being a lover of what is truly right, seeking to do what is right, and being one who "works righteousness" does not mean that a person will be perfectly sinless, but he will desire to be, and he will be faithful.
Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). John wrote, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Let us seek to Do What Is Right, not to earn some merit with God, but because God is right, and we love Him.
Clifton Angel preaches for the Coldwater church of Christ in Coldwater, Miss. He can be reached at Emailus@coldwatercofc.com or 662-622-7951.
