Do The Right Thing

That phrase is certainly part of popular culture now. It's even being used as a marketing slogan! (for non-profits, but, still..)

Do the right thing. Yeah. But.. easier said than done, huh?

I suppose it depends on what doing the right thing costs you. If it's "rounding up for charity" at the grocery store, or telling the clerk when he under-charged you, or trying to be a little more environmentally conscious by consuming less, it's not all that hard to do the right thing.

But what about when doing the right thing actually causes you pain? Most people are pain-averse, whether it's physical, financial, or emotional pain. We avoid it, and often take the easy way out, even when we know full well what the right thing is to do.

The western swing group, Riders In The Sky, puts it this way in their concerts: "Well you know what they say, Ranger Doug: you *could* do it the eeeeasy way.. (and here the audience all joins in) but that wouldn't be - The Cowboy Way." Durn-tootin' it wouldn't, Ranger!

We try so hard to avoid pain, that we'll continue on living with a situation in our life that we *know* we should change, for our own good and the good of those around us, because we don't want the pain that will come with change. Sometimes what it takes is the unexpected (and sometimes harsh) circumstances of life forcing you toward it - toward change that you already know you need to make.

Suppose the right thing to do is stop using a substance (could be as innocent as sugar.. or something more lethal) that your body's become accustomed to. It will go into withdrawals, and it will be painful if you stop "using." But you have the motivation on the other side of a healthier body, and feeling better in the long run. So you tough it out for the reward.

Suppose the right thing to do is to give significantly to charity, especially one that is personally meaningful to you or someone in your family. You know, put your money where your convictions are. But that will mean giving up things you've become accustomed to.

You could say the same about getting out of significant debt. You will have to give up, do without, spend less, maybe work more, and suffer some. But on the other side is changed lives (in the case of charity), or financial health and freedom (in the case of debt reduction.) You have something to look forward to on the other side, so you suck it up and tough it out.

Suppose the right thing to do is give up something that you have become emotionally attached to... but you shouldn't be, anymore, and you know it? What it is doesn't matter, really. Could be a person, way of life, belief system, habit, thought pattern, self-assessment, source of affirmation, whatever. You just know that you have to let go, and you don't want to. You know you will cry. You will hurt inside, you will feel adrift, lost without it.

You may feel that a great measure of the joy has left your life, and where to find it now? You may grieve, be depressed, downhearted.. they used to call it "the blues", I guess. Sure were a lot of songs written about it back in the day. But on the other side is.. is... is.... what? What's the reward waiting for you, the incentive to tough it out, go through all the pain?

If there's a moral component to it (and I suppose it could be said that all of these examples have that).. you have the incentive of a cleaner conscience, or a truer heart, on the other side. Or perhaps being more available, emotionally, for people who need you. I guess that would help as a motivation. It's less tangible than better health, financial freedom, or changed lives. But it should help.

And I guess it does. A little.

There's a Michael Card song I've sung as a solo in church many times since it first came out 20 years ago. I used to believe it was true. It'd be nice if I could believe that again someday.

Right now all I can say is - there's some hope of it.. if I can ever see past the pain to the pattern of reality behind it. After the pain stops being front and center, and I stop focusing on it.. maybe then, like one of those 3-D Magic Eye pictures, I'll see the pattern of joy emerge as I move through the pain toward the joy that lies beyond it. And then maybe I can sing this again, and mean it:

There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey

And all those who seek it shall find it
A pardon for all who believe
Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind

To all who've been born in the Spirit
And who share incarnation with Him
Who belong to eternity stranded in time
And weary of struggling with sin

Forget not the hope that's before you
And never stop counting the cost
Remember the hopelessness when you were lost

There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey

And freedom for those who obey...