Do Whatever I Consider To Be Right

I was with my Zoom Bible Study class last week and we were studying through 1 Kings 11.

There was a man who stood to inherit a great deal of power and Divine influence if he obeyed God and remained faithful to His commands.

This could-be leader of the northern tribes of Israel was in a position to receive greater nobility and the establishment of an enduring dynasty because of the sin of Solomon that enabled a transfer of blessing.

The order given by God to Jeroboam was this, “If you listen to what I tell you and follow My ways and do whatever I consider to be right, and if you obey My decrees and commands, as My servant David did..”

God would be with Jeroboam and would certainly fulfill His promise of presence and blessing, but there were conditions to be met.

IF you listen.
IF you follow My ways.
IF you do whatever I consider to be right.
IF you obey My commands.

And perhaps there are three in the list that seem very familiar and workable.
Listen.
Follow.
Obey.

But there’s one there in the middle I wonder about.
“Do whatever I consider to be right.”

It’s the one that stood out to me more than the others.

Because in my flesh I do whatever I consider to be right.
Me.
In my selfishness I assume what is right.

And the truth really is that “my right” is not “your right.”
What’s right to me is not what might be right for someone else.
We all have different standards and morals and value systems.

And so maybe it’s why He said it like that.
And He says the same thing to you and me today.

I might believe that my response is right - but what does God say?
What is HIS standard of grace?
What would Jesus do?
How would He react?

And maybe that’s how the world - now more than ever - needs to be responding to fear and disunity and grief.  Maybe instead of offering our opinion and suggesting empty outlooks that actually present a demoralizing view, we start extending godly solutions that begin with the consideration of doing whatever HE considers right.  Of behaving in ways that cause us to look more like Him and less like the world we’re trying to make better anyway.

Maybe it’s time we rise up and begin putting into practice that which we claim is our highest standard of living.  To… DO whatever HE considers to be right.

It might not be easy.
It might not be popular.
It might not be accepted or respected.
It might come with a degree of risk.
It might be uncomfortable.
But following Jesus - and doing whatever God considers to be right - is always, ALWAYS the better choice.