Doing the Right Thing

Judy and I read the Bible together at breakfast every morning, then we read a few pages of a selected book and have prayer before we start our day. Right now we are reading Lester Sumrall's book: Genesis, the Crucible of the Universe.

We have also been reading through some of the OT books of the prophets. We have read the 3 prophets that deal with the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity, as well as Ezra and Nehemiah. We enjoyed the story of Esther. In it, we saw that Mordecai finished the job that was given to King Saul, a Benjaminite. Saul was supposed to annihilate the Amalekites, but chose to keep King Agag and others alive. Samuel, the prophet, confronted him and told him that God had ripped the kingdom from him and had given it to David. Many years later, during the Babylonian captivity, God chose Mordecai, another Benjaminite, to finish the job by killing Haman, an Agagite; that is, the last descendant of King Agag of the Amalekites.

Though King Saul elected to keep the best of the people and the livestock alive as spoils, Mordecai elected to keep none of the spoils. Righteousness does prevail, though it may take years to see it. God will always win every time. We may not see it. It may be left to our descendants to enjoy the end of the battle. But if we are faithful to teach our children and to encourage them to do the right thing all the time, regardless of how hard it may be or the cost, then we can be sure that the eventual outcome will be good.

So Mordecai encouraged Esther to approach the king, in the face of possible death, to do the right thing - the hard thing. He said, "Who knows but you have been brought to this position of Queen for this very time in history to save the Jews." And she decided, "I will approach the king, and if I die, I die."

Tough choices, big costs. But because of their willingness to obey the Lord, only good came forth. Today, will you be a Saul and lose the kingdom for a few choice spoils? Or will you lay aside the possibility of personal gain for the greater good?

I believe you will make the right choice. It may even save your country, your family, and your own life.