DOING WHAT’S RIGHT

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”  (Judges 21:25)

Many times over in the Book of Judges God has shown Israel how He sees things. He urges them to live according to His ways, to do what is right in God’s eyes. But continually they instead do what is right in their eyes, according to how they see things.

It was a hot summer afternoon on the Los Angeles freeway.  I was driving along, when suddenly, in the middle lane was a pickup truck, going about 50 mph, with a makeshift swimming pool in the bed of the truck.  Three children were having the time of their lives, yelling and splashing.

The next morning in the newspaper there was a photo of the truck, wet children, and an embarrassed driver being handed a traffic citation.  The driver was quoted as saying, "It was so hot and the kids were having so much fun, I just hated to stop them."

Everybody in that truck thought they were free to do whatever they wanted -- what was right in their eyes.  Well, I know this: Freedom is not doing what we please; it's pleasing God in what we do. It’s doing what is right in God’s eyes.

-- adapted from Luci Swindoll in “Extravagant Grace”

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WHAT IS RIGHT IN GOD’S EYES

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”  (Judges 21:25)

This is the depressing end to the book of Judges. Depressing, but not surprising. No sooner is Israel settling into the Promised Land than they are turning from God’s ways and falling into sin. The Judges were to bring the people back to God, but the chorus of this book is that Israel again does what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Having heard that phrase, in the sight of the Lord, so many times, it is then so fitting to close the book, “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”

Many times over God has shown them how He sees things. He urges them to live according to His ways, to do what is right in God’s eyes. But continually they instead do what is right in their eyes, according to how they see things…

We need God’s Word, prayer, and other followers of Christ to speak truth to us. We are not equipped to be our own judges. If everyone is left alone to decide for themselves what is right and what is the truth for them, we find ourselves with the people of Judges. Rather we should seek to see things through the eyes of God. We should seek to do what He says is right, even if the world around us thinks us foolish.

--  Casey R. Clark, from his “Year in the Bible” blog

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