Could there be anything wrong with doing what you think is right?

4/20/17           Alberto         54

The book of Judges ends with an interesting statement:  "…every man did that which was right in his own eyes."  It might be from way back in the Old Testament but I still hear it a lot, and I heard it today.  A man at Starbucks named Alberto said he believes he is one of the "good guys" that will be welcomed into heaven one day.  Why?  "Well I do make mistakes, but God knows my heart and He knows I try to do what I think is right" he told me.

What could be wrong with trying to do what we think is right?  The problem is that all too often what we think is right is very different from what God thinks is right.  Alberto thinks he is one of the "good guys" because he is judging himself by his own standard.  And when it comes to setting standards, none of us comes close to the standard of holiness God requires.  We're good at making excuses, having good intentions, and calling our sins "mistakes".  But we are only fooling ourselves with a false sense of security when we replace God's standards with our own.

Jesus said "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it."  Why would people take a road that leads to destruction?  Because they would rather take the route that looks right in their own eyes than look at God's word, His road map for salvation.

There was a reason the Israelite's did what seemed right to them - the first half of the verse reads "In those days there was no king in Israel…"  People who have no king do what they want.  When God is not the king of our lives we do what we want rather than carefully consult His word and commandments.  If we do, we will soon find that God's standard is beyond our reach.  In fact, we've already broken it. We find out our need to turn from our sin in repentance, which makes us truly aware of our sin and our need for a Savior.

We are not the "good guys" we think we are.  We need to get off that highway, because it only leads to destruction.  We need to get on the Kings road, the narrow road of repentance that leads to eternal life.