We should always do the right thing in loving others

Whomever is watching, listening to the awful media reports these days concerning murder, terrorism, thievery, manipulation of the masses, etc., etc., may join with me in declaring what we really need is for everybody to begin, continue, and insist upon doing the right thing.
From the highest leaders of our nation to the lowest peons with whom we communicate and labor every day, it seems that it is difficult to say whom can be trusted and who will do the right thing.
No matter our position in life, the higher you climb in life, the more certain people will try to assert control over you. Their threats can sound real, and the consequences of ignoring them, intimidating. This is something that many in leadership would do well to remember.
In the Bible Book of Daniel 3 we see the story of characters called Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; we see their commitment to God that landed them in a fiery furnace heated seven times over. But it also promoted them to a place of great blessing and influence. Their story teaches us that for something to be an authentic test of character, it must be a situation in which the outcome is not in your hands. You simply make the choice to do what is right before God and leave the consequences to Him. It’s a trial by fire, but it’s a fire of refinement, and on the other side of it you come out stronger.
These men made the decision to do the right thing with no concern for the consequence. They said “…be it know unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” No matter their leader’s ruling, they determined to continue doing the right thing.

It’s interesting to note in their story, these three Hebrew young men were having such a good time with the One who had the “likeness of the Son of God” that they had to be invited to come out of the fire.
Each time you do the right thing, choosing to embrace rather than escape the path God has called you to walk, you enter a new level of freedom. And as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego discovered, three things happen: 1) You are set free from the “Nebuchadnezzars” who claim to have control over the outcomes of your life. 2) You are set free to say no to those who would try to use and manipulate you. 3) You are set free to serve your all-powerful King and say no to all the other pretenders who really have no power over you at all. In that moment you not only gain insight into who you are, but more importantly, Whose you are. And God will do one of two things: develop you in the fiery furnace, or deliver you from it.
Indeed, He may do both.
For these and the days to come, come on, people, let’s make sure we are people who will always do the right thing. Especially in loving one another.
Rev. Dr. John I Chamness is pastor of the Family Worship Center A/G in Chester.