Do the Right Thing

January 25.

If ye know these things,
happy are ye if ye do them.

JOHN 13, verse 17.


Therefore to him that knoweth
to do good, and doeth it not,
to him it is sin.

JAMES 4, verse 17.


We cannot kindle when we will
The fire that in the heart resides,
The spirit bloweth and is still,
In mystery our soul abides:
But tasks in hours of insight willed
Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.

MATTHEW ARNOLD.


Hurt not your conscience with any known sin.

S. RUTHERFORD.


Deep-rooted customs, though wrong,
are not easily altered; but it is the duty of all
to be firm in that which they certainly know is
right for them.

JOHN WOOLMAN.


He often acts unjustly who does not do
a certain thing; not only he who
does a certain thing.

MARCUS ANTONIUS.


Every duty we omit
obscures some truth
we should have known.

JOHN RUSKIN.

Roland's comment

What is it that we admire most in people that we look up to? Isn't it courage? More often than not, we respect them because they had the courage to do the right thing.

Why don't we do the right thing? Sometimes it's because we don't know what the right thing to do is. Sometimes we are confused or misled. Sometimes we are too small and powerless.

But all too often it is because there is a disconnect between knowing and doing. We know what is right, but we don't want to offend or we don't want to lose some perk. We don't want to lose comfort by rocking the boat. We fear loss of social approval. We are people pleasers.

We love selfish advantage more than what is right.

We often think that doing the right thing only pertains to some big thing on the stage of history. But I can tell you that for most of us, we fail to do the right thing in the little things. For example, let's say that someone tells an obscene joke. Most of us would laugh sheepishly, thus revealing our weakness. What should you do. Stand there and don't laugh. Let the offensive person have egg on their face.

If you need help knowing what the right thing to do is in any moment, check with your conscience--what you wordessly know in your heart. it's also called intuition.

If you have lost touch with your intuition, then I can help you find it. We have a meditation that helps you get back in touch with conscience and intuition.

Then when you know what is right, you must begin practicing speaking up in little things. Don't start with big ones. You will notice a lot of resentment rising--that you never knew you had.

Watch the resentment and let it go. Then speak up calmly and without resentment. Even though your knees may be knocking. In this way, you will learn to speak up out of reason and love of what is right, instead of out of resentment and hostility.

In the past, your hostility made you say nothing because you were afraid of what you would say in anger or that you would make a fool of yourself.

Another thing, our secret hostility made us guilty (for the hostility and resentment). Feeling guilty and wrong, we did not feel right about speaking up. But now, if you can let go of the hostility and resentment, you can speak up without feeling guilty.