Day Five: Get Caught Doing Right
Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world (2 Peter 2:12, NLT).
Recently a young woman I know was accused of doing something wrong. Many people heard, and some expressed disappointment. I watched as some people turned away from helping her. But she was adamant that she had done nothing wrong, and that she would be vindicated by the truth.
It took some time for the truth to be revealed. Days turned into weeks. The slow passage and the weight of others’ judgment could have easily become a discouragement to her. I could hear some of her questions in my mind: “Why bother? No one believes me anyway.” She could have given up..given in.
But she stayed strong. Resolved not to go back, and not to give in to the discouragement. And the truth became known: she had not made bad choices.
When I learned about the results, I let her know how much I appreciated her faithfulness. We discussed the courage it took to keep choosing the right way while others were judging her as quitter…a failure.
Others may not understand the choices we make, hard choices that go cross-grain to prevalent cultural practices—but God sees…and he will judge you rightly.
TO PONDER: Think a time when someone has judged you harshly without knowing all the facts. How did that feel? What do you do when faced with choosing God’s way over following the negative choices of others?
TO DISCUSS: Talk with a friend or family member about how they have handled being judged wrongly, or harshly for their faith. Consider ways to encourage one another to stand strong and faithful.
PRAYER: God, this world doesn’t make it easy to remain faithful. Through the media we are bombarded with messages of greed and deceit. People live with the mindset that everyone is doing it. They assume the wrong thing, read negative things into our actions, judge us—and all we want to do is follow you. Help us to live our faith honestly and openly so that we can bring you all the honor and glory. Amen.
Pot of Manna 