Our Motivation to Do Right

Be Strong, Be Well — Saturday, July 18

Anytime we go back in history and look at the great people of the Old Testament, we’re minded of what Paul said in Romans 15:4. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”

Looking at the life of Joseph, we have to ask ourselves, "What motivated him always to do the right thing?" There was a pattern. No matter how dire and disturbing the situation was, he always chose the righteous path.

One such time was after his father died. The Bible says, “When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him" (Genesis 50:15).

No doubt his brothers were shocked by the way Joseph had been treating them while their father was alive. Now that he was gone, they were bracing themselves for Joseph’s retaliation and revenge. They made this assumption based on their own character of only doing what was right to please their father, not because it was the right thing to do.

When their thoughts were made known to Joseph, the Bible says, he cried (Genesis 50:17). Joseph had always acted righteously toward his brothers, because his heart was motivated by righteousness, not because it was what his father wanted.

We need to stop and think about why we do what we do. No matter the situation, company, or surroundings; no matter the heart-ache or emotions of the moment; no matter our circumstances or the sacrifices involved, our motivation to do right must come from the heart—a heart tied to God and His character and will.

We always do right because it’s the right thing to do. That’s all the motivation we need. —Chris