When It Hurts to Do Right...Because of Wrong

Sometimes, we learn to do things right the hard way. For someone like me, it's easy to go through my personal Christian walk without taking a stand. I just keep to myself and personally do what I find is right through God's Word. In my mind, ignorance is bliss. If I don't know about it or it doesn't have to do with me, I don't have to do anything about it. But I learned the hard way that this is not the right response.

At my school, we have a time of prayer that is to be used strictly for that purpose. Last semester, as the prayer leader, there were a couple of nights where I allowed the girls to have different parties. The parties were not bad in and of themselves – just a Christmas or birthday party. But it still wasn't right because it's a direct disobedience to authority.

I was recently convicted of this lack of judgment when some of the girls were wanting to throw another party. So this time, I did the right thing, and I took a stand. I think that inconsistency from leaders is one of the most frustrating things. I obviously had not made the right choice on this before, and now the girls were mad because I went against my own word.

I was a hypocrite.

It was extremely painful when one of the girls came to me and called me out, but it was exactly what I needed. God uses difficult situations to shape our lives, and He knew exactly what I needed to hear...even though it hurt.

I did not even want to confront the party in the first place because I knew I had a double standard. But I knew I still had to do the right thing. Even though the results of the entire situation were not peaceful, God taught me much just about myself.

One key to the Christian life is consistency. I have to consistently be in God's Word. I have to consistently pray. I have to consistently do what is right, no matter what the cost. Doing what is right can be hard, and sometimes, it's our own faults. But just because you fail once does not mean that you can't do what is right the next time. Accept your responsibility. Ask God's forgiveness. Ask forgiveness of others involved. And strive to do what's right...even when it's hard.