The Right Thing

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9

One of the best parts of my job is helping the middle lovelies find direction.  We all need people to look up to, to imitate and to follow.  Sadly, the choices our culture puts in front of our kids is lacking woefully in the good stuff they need.  Several times a week I tell them stories or show them video clips of people doing excellent things.  The fine education professors I had at Emporia State University about a hundred years ago told us a bazillion times that if we wanted the lessons to stick, we had to model, model, model and then model some more so I try constantly to show them people who are getting it right. I have to admit though, doing things the right way often takes more energy and thought than doing it the wrong way.  I’ve come to the conclusion that sin is pretty easy it’s the resisting that’s tough! 

Doing the right thing is always a choice.  I visited with a lady  several weeks ago after I gave a talk and she told me she had been taught in elementary school by a beautiful nun who always told them “do the right thing for no other reason than because it’s the right thing.”  Seems pretty straight forward but after some thought and prayer, it’s deeper than you think.  Do the right thing not because you’ll be noticed or get an award or prize.  Do the right thing just because it’s right.  That was a thought I was peeling around with on my heart and I made a discovery…and not a good one.  I realized how many times in a week I thought or even said, “I don’t want to.”  Maybe it was because I was tired, or worried or indifferent but there were so many times I just didn’t bother to do the right thing and give a little extra.

This has all been on my heart and I came across a story about a great and holy man that I need to share with you and the  middle lovelies.  This great man was Pope John the XXIII.  He had just kicked off the opening of Vatican II and he was exhausted.  He was also battling stomach cancer and feeling it’s painful effects as he retired to his room.  One of his aids called his attention to the massive crowd in St. Peter’s Square.  He said, “I don’t want to talk,  I’ve talked all day.”  That was quickly followed as he lifted himself wearily from his chair by a “but I will do it anyway.”  He went to the window and delivered his famous “Moonlight Speech.”  It was impromptu, heartfelt and beautiful.  He did the right thing for the people and more than fifty years later we still remember his words. His  message was simple; “give honor to the impressions of this night, which are always our feelings, which now we express before heaven and earth: faith, hope, love, love of God, love of brother, all aided along the way in the Lord's holy peace for the work of the good. And so, let us continue to love each other, to look out for each other along the way: to welcome whoever comes close to us, and set aside whatever difficulty it might bring.”

That night when he had to be running on a completely empty tank, he offered love, peace and a simple message about the right thing to do.  It isn’t just the middle lovelies that needed a lesson from Good Pope John…their teacher needed it too!

A Seed To Plant:  Make a list of three “right things” you will do today.​

Blessings on your day!