Doing the Right Thing

Christian Lopez caught Derek Jeter’s 3000 hit.  He didn’t auction the ball on the Internet.  He didn’t try to strong arm the Yankees into negotiating other stuff.  He just gave it back to Derek Jeter.  His reason – “It is not about the money.  This is a milestone”.  “Money is cool and I’m 23”, Lopez said.  “’I’ve got a lot of time to make that.  It was never about the money”.  The Yankees also did the right thing giving him suite tickets and signed merchandise.  Of course, the IRS wanted the tax on that which for gift taxes is $5,000-$13,000.  I guess the IRS doesn’t care if it is the right thing or not.

The Internet waves are full of people laughing at Lopez and calling him a fool.  It tells you a little bit about our country when what is definitely right becomes so unusual, it almost seems wrong.  I recently was paying for a bike repair when I noted they had not charged me for something I know they did.  When I brought it to their attention, it was surprising their reaction.  I could have pulled one over on them.  They wouldn’t have noticed.  But I would have known and God would have known.  And it is the “right thing to do”. 

A Christian should have the fragrance of the aroma of Christ.  This means always doing the right thing.  Why is it so hard?  Because it seems so unnatural.  It is almost supernatural.  Let’s face it, we are broken – we have accepted what is wrong as right.  Chuck Colson has a new series out called “Doing the Right Thing” with the intent of putting the spotlight back on ethics in our society.  You can get a sneak peak of this at the video below. 

It airs in a live simulcast on September 24. You can also get the DVD series.  Maybe we can all see that “doing the right thing” is the right thing.