Doing the Right Thing is the Best Thing

We like what we like, and since that is the case, it is difficult to stop doing what we like even if the thing we like to do is wrong. Wow – I got dizzy just writing that.

Some people I know won’t stop doing something that is pleasurable (yet wrong), until they get caught. For example, someone who is cheating on a spouse, a boyfriend or girlfriend, may be forced to discontinue their cheating ways, once they get caught. Another example of someone who may have to quit doing something that is wrong which brings them pleasure, is someone who has been arrested and sent to prison for using or selling illegal drugs.  

There are so many more scenarios I could use to prove my point but I think you got the picture. If we are consistently engaging in anything that is wrong, we need to be converted.  Now, the word converted means to be rehabilitated, transformed, renewed and listen to this, improved.

Whether a person is caught in a wrong act or not, they are going to need personal discipline if they want to remain rehabilitated or converted. Let me drive my point home a little bit further with a slightly different twist. Let’s use another scenario where no one is getting caught while engaging in an act that is ‘pleasurably wrong’. If someone is grossly overweight, yet desires to be physically fit, they may first have to change their eating habits in order to see their body transform. However, if their idea of a snack is two large buckets of fried chicken, a large bowl of mash potatoes, a liter of their favorite soda and a dozen glazed donuts; they will never witness the self improvement they say they desire. My point: besides not attaining their goal to be thin, the overweight person may suffer negative health challenges simply because they won’t discipline themselves by eating healthier, smaller portions of food.

I’m going to repeat myself: we like what we like, and since that is the case, it is difficult to stop doing what we like even if the thing we like to do is wrong.

I am not a psychologist; however, I happen to know that people do wrong things because they may have been rejected, hurt, abused, have low self esteem, etc. They may do things against their better judgment because they want to fit in or simply feel good for the moment.  Well, what they don’t realize is that the food, sex, drugs or whatever their vice may be is never going to be enough because they have a void that is not being fulfilled.  They must discover and deal with the root of the problem. Have you ever heard the statement: “hurting people hurt people?” Well, in many cases, hurting people also hurt themselves. It is a vicious cycle.

People make bad choices all the time but bad choices should not be a reoccurring affair in one’s life. We should be responsible for our actions and if we have a problem of over indulgence of any kind, we should try to stop by using will power and other self help methods. If that does not work, and we are serious about being converted or improved, we should seek professional help.  

                                         

A few years ago, there was an adage that became very popular: ‘WWJD (what would Jesus do)?’  You could find this saying on bumper stickers, jewelry, etc.  Years later, ‘WWJD’ is no more popular because many people refuse to commit themselves to a lifestyle of discipline and discipline was a way of life for Jesus.