Character is Doing the Right Thing

Day 256 of Photo Inspirations — Character is Doing the Right Thing

When I was just a little girl, my Mom and I were at the grocery store and I saw a wrapped candy bar on the floor at the cashier’s check-out stand.  I snuck it into my pocket.  I figured “Finders Keepers”! But as we walked out of the store, my Mom saw my hidden “stash”, and she turned me around and marched me back into the store to admit the error of my ways.  That day I learned such a valuable lesson in honesty and it has stuck with me to this day – so much so, that if the cashier gives me too much change back, I’ll quickly let her know.

And then, there’s the grocery cart dilemma.  Do I go ALL THE WAY to the grocery cart corral and put my grocery cart where it belongs, or do I just slip it in-between some cars or on a curb?   If I wasn’t parked close to the corral, that’s what I would do.  But then the day came when I was walking away from leaving my grocery cart in one of those care-less locations, and when I turned to walk away, I saw it rolling quickly toward a car.  Thankfully, I recovered it before it hit.  That day I learned the values of integrity and character.

J.C. Watts, former politician, said, “Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught”.  And that is so very true.  Character is the one thing no one can take from us. It is what we hold dear to us.  It is a non-negotiable core value.

Some folks pay little attention to doing the “right thing”.  They tell their kids to tell a caller “I’m NOT home.”  It’s okay for a little white lie here and there.  It’s okay to put something they’ve changed their mind about in another location in a store (i.e., a head of lettuce in the laundry detergent aisle).  It’s okay to “fudge” on their income taxes.  It’s okay to take office supplies home from their place of employment.  They rationalize that they’re not getting paid what they deserve anyway.

Never has it been clearer to me, that character should take the highest priority when it comes to being trustworthy and credible to our children, our peers, our neighbors, our constituents……but most of all….to God.  He has a front row seat in our lives. Our actions DO speak louder than words.  It makes Dad so proud of His kids when He sees them “doing the right thing when no one is looking.”

Fact is – DAD is ALWAYS looking.  And even if there were no consequences, no laws, no fear of any reprisals for our actions, when we do the RIGHT THING in any situation, I expect that He beams from ear to ear with pride and joy about His kids!

Proverbs 20:7 “The one who lives with integrity is righteous; his children who come after him will be happy.”