Verse of the day: Judges 21:11, 20-21, And this is the thing that you shall do: You shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately.” 20 Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards, 21 and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin.
Is it possible to go from bad to worse when trying to make things right? The short answer is “yes”. The children of Israel backed themselves into a corner when they made the rash vow not to give their daughters as wives to the children of Benjamin. Now, in order to fix that wrong they committed, they came up with these two “brilliant” ideas to find their brethren wives. The first idea involved the murder of all the men, and woman who were not virgins, of the people of Jabesh Gilead who did not come to the aid of Israel in their fight against the Benjamites. The second was to kidnap the daughters of Shiloh, and in return the children of Israel would plead their case before their fathers and brothers. They sought to solve the wrong they committed by performing two more wrongs to make things right. Just saying that made me dizzy. However, how often have we done that, and then justified what we did because the outcome was a seemingly positive one? We may be able to make ourselves feel better about what we have done if the end was a result that worked out positively for everyone involved, but what would God say about our choice of resolution? James 4:17 clearly says, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Even if the outcome is positive, if the means was wrong to do, it was sin before God. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 also says, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” If we choose to do what is wrong in order to make something right, is that action or plan honoring to God? Does is bring Him glory? Could we honestly say that we are doing it in the Name of the Lord Jesus if it is sinful to do? I believe that the answers to these questions are pretty obvious. 1 John 3:4-9 clearly tells us, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” The bottom line is that if we are children of God, saved by Blood of Christ, and have a personal relationship with Him, it is never right to do wrong in order to get the right result. The ends do not justify the means…ever. We must always seek to do right, regardless of the outcome. When we do right, the outcome belongs to the Lord, and we must trust Him to take care of the results of doing what is righteous before God. King Solomon said it best in Proverbs 16:1-4, “The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirits. 3 Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established. 4 The LORD has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.” When we choose to do right to fix a wrong, God will honor it and use it for His purpose and His glory, even if it causes us a bit of “life lesson” pain in the process.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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