Happy Friday Friends!
I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day and an awesome week coming to a close for you!
On Wednesday I had lunch with a man I have known for about 5 years. As we were getting caught up on life we were talking about the fact that we are both refinancing of our homes...we have both chosen not to short-sale our homes or let them go into foreclosure, to do what we believe is the right thing to do, etc. It seems logical to me that our banks would be happy and willing to work with us and provide great customer service to us as we are honoring our commitments, we are paying our bills and we are trying to work with them. Instead we have both found great delays, extremely poor customer service and great (great!!!) frustration. My friend then asked a rhetorical question that I have thought about literally hundreds of times since then; he asked, "What is the incentive for doing the right thing?" He went on to give other examples of what he felt were injustices done in society when people strive "to do the right thing" however I have to be honest, I was in a fog, not fully listening to what he was saying any more as "what is the incentive for doing the right thing?" continued to reverberate in my mind, heart and spirit.
The answer to me is really quite simple - peace. Peace in my mind, my heart and my spirit in knowing that I have done, I am doing, what I feel in my heart is the right thing to do. You see, I have learned that God speaks to me through the Holy Spirit, through my heart, and when I listen to this leading, this guiding, there is great peace. This doesn't mean that there is always worldly success or tangible, hold in your hands benefits however I have found that no matter the storm, the trial or tribulation, when I am walking in complete obedience to the leading of my heart I have peace. This, in my humble opinion, is the incentive.
Now that I have given you my quick answer, my testimony, I digress. I can't help but think - at times with great sorrow in my spirit - how much this question drives our society, how many lives have been lost, hearts broken striving to get/find the "incentive." Why does the already incredibly gifted (wonder if they have fully considered where that gift comes from?) athlete feel they need to take performance enhancing drugs? Why does the person with adequate financial means need to lie, cheat, steal to get more money? Why does the incredibly beautiful woman - inside and out -, fearfully and wonderfully made, perfectly equipped to fulfill her life purpose give her mind and body to boys trying to prove they are men and in the process violate her own spirit, lowering her self-esteem, questioning her self-worth more and more after each encounter? Why do we have men - men made to be great, called to great purposes, who would accomplish great things and leave incredible legacies if only they would strive to become all that they were created to become instead of striving and trying to be something they were never created to become - acting like boys, running from their responsibilities, time and time again pursuing worldly definitions of success while their wives and children sit longing for them, desperately seeking their unconditional love, support and protection? Why? Why?! Why?!?!
I truly wish I knew all the answers however my spirit tells me I couldn't handle knowing all the answers. I really think it all comes down to this; determing who we are paying rent to, whose or what approval we are seeking. It is true; I can do everything "right" and it doesn't guarantee worldly success or worldly gain. There have been numerous times in my life when I KNOW I did the right thing and the world would define me and/or that moment as a smashing failure! I am completely fine with that...honored in fact. You see Friends, the peace that I felt in my spirit in those moments was so much greater than any feeling of euphoria or anything else that might come from some worldly incentive of fulfillment. Ultimately we will all have to choose who or what we will pay rent to, whose approval we will seek. I guess the cry of my heart this morning is that we would all understand that there are consequences to whatever we choose and we will all own the consequences of those choices whether we want to or not. For me, I am going to continue to strive every day to pursue the Lord, to seek His guidance and walk in the comfort, peace and protection that could only come from Him. This is my prayer for you and your families today as well.
Please let me know if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always be willing and happy to help you any way I can.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.
Kev
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