It Seems Right!
Proverbs 14:12 – “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Have you ever tried to do something that seemed right but wound up wrong? Did you choose not to say anything when those around you were doing something unethical or immoral but not illegal? Did it “seem right” not to say anything, being that no laws were being broken?
At one of my previous jobs, I had the opportunity to do something legally right but morally and ethically wrong. When it was presented to me, I simply said, “We can not do that!” The person who brought the idea to me said, “Yes we can, and we can make a profit on it. It’s not illegal.” He was, in fact, telling the truth. It was not illegal; however, it was unethical.
You see, we probably would not have gotten caught. But not getting caught could have been one of the worse things that could have happened. If I would have gone along with him this time, what would have stopped me from going along with him the next time? I’m sure that he could have held it over my head that the “church boy” should have known better. I’m sure that he would have offered to tell someone about the last time if I did not participate the next time. I would have wound up being manipulated and intimidated — all because I would have chosen to walk in the way that he saw as right. But thank God I didn’t walk in his way because doing so would have resulted in the greatest penalty of all. Lets take a look at our text to see what that penalty is.
Proverbs 16:25 – “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Yes, children of God, death is the greatest penalty of all. By doing what seemed right by man and not doing what has been ordained right by God, I would have invoked a death sentence upon myself. I would have been looking over my shoulder hoping no one would ever find out my secret. I would have lost my authority to put that lying, manipulating, twisted demon in its place because I would have been lying, manipulating and twisting the truth just the same. I don’t know who coined this saying, but it goes, “If you never meet the devil head-on, make sure you both are not going in the same direction!” It might seem right not to make others uncomfortable, but God did not call us to comfort demons. God created us to be His righteousness and not to walk in what Billy Bob and Mary Jane think is right. You see, their righteousness leads to death. But the righteousness of God through Christ brings us eternal life and life more abundant.
So the next time you are confronted with what “seems right unto man,” keep our text as well as the following scripture in mind: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” — Deuteronomy 30:19.
