Decisions for Righteousness ...

Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012. Sometimes we are tempted to try to get or gain things, but the path is not completely right. It is an important point … I want to give a “little” example.

It starts with little things …

You have been eating in the student restaurant for years … and had the benefit of reduced prices, which are valid for students. Then, you are now assistant, paid a small salary by the university and responsible for some teaching and some research. The amount of money you have has gone up by 50%, but now you also have to pay employee prices, which are around twice as high as student prices. What do you do?

Many of us stay quietly with the student prices. That seems even kind of ok, since the employee prices are quite high compared to the salary increase. But it is not correct, it is not right and does not follow the path of righteousness. And it is a perfect example for something “small” which has large effects in the long run.

Another feature of this example is that justice brings costs. You cannot be righteous or just without paying for it - in the first place. Here, you know exactly how much it costs: the difference between the student price and the employee price. You can give it an exact amount. For many other examples that is not easily possible.

Honestiy is from the Lord …

Without doubt, God is truth and justice, honesty and righteousness. God is so eager and linked to these qualities, that they can even be taken as a name for him. The bible is full of the quest for truth and for honesty. For example, in Proverbs we read:

8 Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. … 11 Honest scales and balances are from the Lord; all the weights in the bag are of his making. (Proverbs 16)

God wants us to make decisions which follow the path of righteousness. These start with very small decisions, for example with the decision to pay the right price. There are others, then. You will be honest with what you have and what you do not have. You will use honest scales and balances … and wait for the Lord to help you, not try to cheat and get things done yourself. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts