"I Tried to do the Right Thing"

Hey ladies! 

   Tooth and Nail records released a lyric video of our song "I Tried to do the Right Thing" last week- check it out!

So last night I was watching this competition show called Chopped. Right before they announced the winner one of the contestants said to the camera, "I've learned that it's not so much the destination as the journey, and this has been a really great journey." 

  I am almost always so focused on the result that I totally disregard the importance of the journey. Then David wrote this little song with this one-liner that gets sung over and over and over and over (we practice a lot!)... and what started off as such a little phrase got more and more profound with each repetition.

   

    "I tried"

God looks at our sincere efforts to follow Him. Our weak attempts to live righteously. In fact, He records them. He keeps track of every time we try. 

  Why do I get up extra early in the morning? So I can read the bible. What if I get distracted while checking my email and end up blogging instead? I tried.

  Why do I read the bible? So I can know more of Jesus and live righteously. So what if I read a verse about loving my neighbor and pray, Lord-help me love people like You do!! and then I go out and say something sharp to one of my family members (oh nuts.)- I am trying. I will keep trying. And God just keeps makin' check-marks on the clipboard of my life. I like to imagine Him up there watching me with a little grin goin', "Look at that girl, she tries so hard! She can't do anything right in her own strength but every time she messes up she keeps coming back to Me. I love that!"

  "to do"

Someone has to do it. I see so many things that frustrate me. I wish someone would do something about it. Someone who knows the answers. Someone who is strong and smart and pretty and kind and loving and confident. Yeah... okay, I should just do it. Even if you're not perfect for the job, grab the bat and start swingin'. You'll be surprised at how many people will back you up (even if you think- I don't know what I'm doing!), people who just didn't want to be the first one to take action and do something. Doesn't even have to be important or big. Usually isn't in my case, my life is chock-full of small, mundane little tasks. Who better to clean up the kitchen than me? I'm lookin' at the mess! Who better to send a little note of encouragement to that person who's struggling, I struggle all the time- I understand exactly how she feels! Who better to volunteer for the job, or to pray, or help someone out... than me? When it comes to the mundane jobs that no one wants to do... think like Nike: just do it.

  "the right thing"

Conscience. We all have one. And it makes us feel terrible, right? But only when we aren't doing the right thing. Wasn't it kind of God to give us an inner gauge that pokes and drives the nail in deep when we're trying to get away with something? And amazingly, everybody is born with this inner "right thing gauge". It's not something you receive when you become a christian or lose when you fall into sin- non-christians have it too. Ever noticed a non-believer making a ton of excuses for a wrong behavior (they usually start with, "I had to" and then place the blame on someone else), it's like, why do you care? You're not even trying to live righteously anyways! It's because we were created to do the right thing. And no excuse can ever make the wrong thing right.

  However, we must be careful with our "right thing gauge". It we consistently ignore it and make excuses to numb the driving nail, we develop a hard shell around our heart until we cannont feel it anymore. That's when we stop trying. We stop repenting. That is a very dangerous place to be. We need that annoying poker, that painful nail driving at our soul (which usually makes us feel sick to our stomachs).

  We won't always do the right thing. But we can always repent and be forgiven. And we can always ALWAYS keep trying.

Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Hebrews 12:1

Keep running!

LM