August 9 (Isaiah 5:20)
Woe to those
who call evil good and good evil,who put darkness for light and light for darkness,who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
(ESV)
Some things are right. They are right to think, right to say, right to do. Some things are wrong. They are wrong to think, wrong to say, wrong to do. Unfortunately, even stating basic truths like these has become unpopular in our age and next to impossible in some contexts. Before we can even hope to begin resolving some of our conflicts, we must once again embrace these simple truths. Some things are right. Some things are wrong.
We may agree on some of the big ones. It is right to help someone. It is wrong to kill. Yet rarely is life that clear. Is it right to help the person with a
cardboard sign at the intersection? What
if that person is trying to scam me? Is
it wrong to kill an enemy in war? What
about a child in the womb? And how do I
determine right and wrong when what is legal and illegal may not be the most
helpful guide?
Fortunately, we have a clear guide. God, the Creator of the universe and the One Who
established right and wrong, has given us both His words and His Word. He has spoken to us through the words of the
Bible and through the Word made flesh, our Lord Jesus, Who promised the further
gift of the Holy Spirit, Who leads us into truth. So we have the resources we need, which is
good. This verse from Isaiah reminds us
that, equipped with reliable knowledge, we ought never to confuse what is right
and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil, by exchanging God’s sure path
to truth for a human way of seeing things.
Father, my friends and family do not intentionally lie, but
we do disagree, sometimes on matters of deep importance. Help me to discern when these are issues
where different views can live in tension and where good must be identified and
upheld over evil. May I always stand
firm on the true rock of our faith, Jesus, in Whose name I pray. Amen.
Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins
Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins
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