Daily Devotionals

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

Devotional: August 4th

“The righteous Lord loveth righteousness.”

The Lord Himself is righteous and loves to see His people acting in a righteous manner. He is pleased when believers instinctively make choices that are consistent with divine or moral law.

But it is not always easy in a world such as ours. We are constantly tempted to compromise in the areas of morals and ethics. Some or the temptations are blatant; others are insidious. It takes both discernment and backbone to walk a straight line.

It would not be possible to catalog all the problem areas, but perhaps a selective list will provide a base for future decision-making.

Bribes and kickbacks are forms of unrighteousness. So are gifts made to a purchasing agent in order to prejudice his judgment— It is wrong to kite checks, that is, to issue them without sufficient funds in the account in the hope that you can deposit enough money before the checks are collected… It’s illegal to mail a package of merchandise with writing enclosed and not pay the extra postage for the letter… A form of deceit is to tell a caller that the boss is not in when, in fact, he is sitting in the adjacent office…Any misuse of company time or expense account with personal expenditures that are not related to the business… And then of course there is the widespread practice of falsifying income tax returns, either by understating income or padding contributions and expenses… The filing of fraudulent insurance claims has reached epidemic proportions… Work slowdowns and work that is below standard are wrong… And perhaps one of the most frequent abuses is the unauthorized use of an employer’s time to transact personal business.

It is not right to stand up for relatives or friends when they are clearly in the wrong. This is misguided affection and false loyalty. The cause of righteousness is served when we stand for truth against sin, no matter who the guilty person is.

Similarly, it is wrong to side in with an excommunicated person on the sentimental notion that someone has to befriend the offender. This only succeeds in creating division in the church and hardening the offender in his wickedness.

Finally, it is never right for someone to shoulder the blame for something he hasn’t done. There are some peace-loving souls who are willing to take the blame when the guilty refuses to come forward and confess. Peace cannot be won by the sacrifice of truth.

Courage, brother! do not stumble,

Though thy path is dark as night;

There’s a star to guide the humble:

“Trust in God, and do the Right.”

Norman MacLeod