Daily Devotional for May 26, 2016

Proverbs 21:15
Good people celebrate when justice triumphs,
    but for the workers of evil it’s a bad day.

Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.  Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO.  All rights reserved.

There is a commercial running on local television where two young men are pulled over by a police woman.  The passenger is mocking the driver…making fun of him for getting a ticket…teasing him about how it must feel.  And then the officer walks to the passenger side of the car and writes up the passenger for not wearing his seatbelt. The driver just looks at his passenger friend and smiles.

My mother always told me to do the right thing and let others worry about their own behaviors.  Even when it seemed that some people were “getting away with murder,” I was taught to “take the high road.”  Whether these folks got what they deserved at some point or not was to be of no concern to me.  Don’t misunderstand me…I’m not saying that we should never point out evil deeds or injustice.  But we should not lower ourselves to a level where we call others names, make up lies, treat someone unkindly, and more…just because we don’t like how they are behaving.

Additionally, we should not boast and brag when someone gets his/her due justice.  We shouldn’t be sore losers…but we should not be arrogant “winners,” either!  God wants us to love everyone…the good, the bad, and the ugly.  And this means that we must celebrate victories – but we must not publicly revel in the defeats of others.  We should encourage good behavior rather than always pointing out another person’s faults.  We are to be busy building up God’s Kingdom, rather than tearing down those who do the devil’s work.

The message for me in today’s passage is that God always prevails…and for those who are doing His will, the day that justice triumphs is a good one.  For those who choose to follow the devil and ignore the teachings of Jesus, there will be some bad days – and lots of defeats.  It may not seem that way “to the naked eye,” (think Jesus’ crucifixion) but I assure you, God always makes things right.  Our job is to stick with Him…to trust His timing…and to always do the right thing. 

We are to be like the driver in the commercial, rather than the passenger…focused on the road ahead and doing the right thing rather than making the business of others our own. Which “seat” do you occupy these days?

©2016 Debbie Robus