Tag: Thoughtful

Righteous is Being Thoughtful and Deliberate

I have a saying that I use often, “Focus on Getting it Right, Not Just Getting it Done”. I have mentioned this before here in my writing and feel as though I was lead to this saying this morning once again in my study of the word “righteous”. As I wrote before on the definition of righteous from Merriam-Webster, it is that we should act “in accord with divine or moral law”. In order to do so, I have to consider divine or moral law in my actions, and to do so means that I must first know and understand the divine or moral law and be thoughtful and deliberate in it carrying out.

Let’s consider David and Saul. Saul was no fan of David and actively sought him out to kill him. This is certainly a trying time for David and he was well within his rights to defend himself to the point of killing Saul to do so. In fact, in the passage from 1 Samuel 24, we are reminded that His enemy would be handed over to him.

“4And the men of David said to him, ‘Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, “Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.”’” – 1 Samuel 24:4a (ESV)

It is pretty clear here as I read, that David would be presented an opportunity to stop all the madness of pursuing to kill, by taking action in a situation given to him by the LORD. David was being pursued and found himself in the situation where he had the chance to end the situation and relax. Based on the words said, it seemed as David was presented the chance to kill his pursuer. But wait. David stopped and thought and instead took some deliberate action to avoid bloodshed and accomplish the same.

“4Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.” – 1 Samuel 24:4b (ESV)

What, he only cut off the corner of the robe? Well, David was acting “in accordance with divine or moral law”. Remember the commandments, thou shall not kill and love thy neighbor as thyself. David spared the life of Saul in accordance to the LORD.

“6He said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 7So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.” – 1 Samuel 24:6-7 (ESV)

How often do we take hasty action based on information we have at the time and do not consider all the information that we have at our disposal. David was given information and in the moment it made sense for him to take the decisive action of killing Saul. But when he considered the rest of the information, he thought better of it and elected to act accordingly. And what did he get for his action?

“17He said to David, ‘You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. 19For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.’” – 1 Samuel 24:17-20 (ESV)

He was declared as righteous and acknowledged for what he would become, by his very enemy none the less. Saul recognized that David was well within his rights to take the decisive action and kill him. Yet, David was thoughtful and deliberate and acted according to God’s Law and spared his life. David got it right.

I have to remember that to get it right means that I have to be thoughtful and deliberate. I have to look at and understand all of the information available and not just that which is presented in the moment. Will this make me righteous, I do not know. But it will help to ensure that I am taking actions that would be considered righteous, “in accordance with divine or moral law”.

How do you act in situations? Are you reactive with the information you have in the moment? What if you were to slow down, consider all information, and act thoughtfully and deliberately, “in accordance with divine or moral law”?

Habit/Tradition or Following God

How much of what we do in this world is due to habit or tradition and not really in the line of following the commandments of God. Take going to church as an example. We tend to go to church on Sunday’s, but why? Are we doing it to worship the Father and come to Him, or are we doing it because it is what we have always done. Another example is giving to the church. Are we doing it out of habit and not really conscious of our giving, or are we thoughtful and prayerful with every gift.

I believe that we have to push tradition aside and be more thoughtful in our following of God. We have to do things consciously in service to Him and prayerfully considering all our actions in relation to the glory of God at all times.

“7You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

‘8This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

9in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

— Matthew 15:7-9 (ESV)

As I read this morning in relation to my study of the word “father”, I was brought to this passage and at first reading, I was drawn to the honoring of father and mother. But, as I read on and multiple times, I found what I believe God wanted me to find. The title of the passage in my ESV Bible is “Traditions and Commandments” and that is where God wanted me this morning.

I see in the verses that Jesus is speaking with the religious leaders about traditions and commandments and how all will break them. He speaks to them to say that if there is something to be broken, it should be the traditions as they are not from God in this time. Tradition falls into legalism and does not necessarily involve thought and prayer. We are doing them because the law says to and not because it is right.

I have a saying to “Focus on Getting it Right, and NOT Just Getting it Done”. Tradition falls into the “getting it done” for the sake of doing it. Following God is “getting it right” and requires thought and prayer in order to do so. Notice in the verses above that Jesus calls out the religious leaders for just getting things done and not really thinking of whether or not it is indeed right and in following of God.

Where are you in your actions? Are you working through things using tradition and/or habit? What if you were to be more thoughtful and prayerful to follow God and “get it right”?