What does it mean to clean my own side of the street?

Today's Precious Prodigal's Current Meme is at = http://bit.ly/1D5V3LT Like what you see? Please "Like" & "Share" with your Facebook friends. See more at: www.preciousprodigal.com

Today's Precious Prodigal's Post = http://bit.ly/1EJqOpu

Hashtags: #justfortoday #doingwhatsright

Precious Prodigal's Current Meme is at = http://bit.ly/1D5V3LT

======================================== ==

Micah 6:8 “…and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly?”

Through Micah, God reminded Israel of the terrible things He had rescued them from. Then Micah told them what God expected of these people He had set free. Micah starts by asking some questions.

Would God be pleased with burnt offerings? With “thousands of rams or ten thousands rivers of oil or even their first-born child?” (Micah 6:7) Even then, that wouldn’t be enough to repay the God who had freed them from bondage. So what did God expect from them? And what does He expect from us?

There were only three things, and they were and are simple things. However, like many things that are “simple,” they might not be easy. The first of those was that they were to “do justly.” (Micah 6:8) “Doing justly” simply means doing the right thing to the best of my ability. That’s not complicated, is it?

When a family is in chaos, it’s easy for the lines to get blurred. It’s probably only one person in a family who acts out in destructive ways, but he or she isn’t the only one with a problem. One young wife said it perfectly: “He drinks, and I get crazy.” And just because the drinking or acting out stops doesn’t mean everyone is healthy.

Recovery takes time, and that applies both to the prodigal and also to the people who love him. Some people are never going to choose recovery. Nor can we force them to no matter how much we want to or how hard we try. To try to “fix” another person is the perfect example of “self-will run riot.” Who are we to decide what other people need to do in their lives?

But what about the things they say about me and do to me? Don’t I have the right to fight back if someone hurts me? Fair questions, but the first thing I need to realize is that I’m not capable of being objective in situations like that. If I’m honest, I’ll admit it’s a lot easier to see your part than it is to see my own.

The second is that I can’t make anyone else choose to do the right thing. And people are going to misunderstand me sometimes or strike out unfairly. They might be unkind or even cruel, and I can’t change that. I can, however, choose to do the right thing myself. And I can do that even though nobody else is doing what’s right because it’s not about someone else.

That’s what it means to clean my own side of the street. Regardless of what someone else does or how hurt I am, it doesn’t excuse my doing the wrong thing too…no matter how much I want to or how justified I feel in doing it. It isn’t about “them” at all. It’s about doing what God requires of me…the right thing.

You and I won’t do it perfectly. Aren’t you glad we don’t have to? But we can make a beginning. We can leave unsaid the cruel words we wanted to fight back with. We can send that card, make that call, and own our part without assigning blame to others for theirs. And we can do it to the best of our ability…just for today.

Challenge for Today: What might happen if we, just for today, chose to do the right thing regardless of what anyone else might do?