The Right Thing

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

I have been thinking recently about thinking, and ethics, and knowing what the right thing is in a given moment. In our human experience we will make millions of decisions. They can be as simple as what will I have for breakfast or as complicated as who I will marry and share my life with. As a project manager, one of my key roles is to guide a decision making process. I don’t often have to face the weight of a decision, but I am relied upon to identify the risks, benefits and considerations of the options on the table. We use a formatted template to call these decisions out, we review them with teams of people who make recommendations and in some cases we send them on to the top organizational leaders to take all the options, review the recommendations and make a final decision. I have often heard that those in top leadership roles hand off smaller decisions to their trusted leaders and support personnel so that they do not become distracted by the small decisions. 

My step brother is a writer, IT programmer, and professor. I find that many individuals in these careers spend a large amount of time thinking. They consider storylines and the impacts of a code/programming point and how it will impact things further down the line. They consider how their teaching will impact the students that they are charged with bringing into the next group of leaders, and thinkers. There are many careers where thinking and considering are a big part of the work that is done and the decisions that are made. On his blog, my step brother recently wrote “Doing the right thing isn’t always easy and it doesn’t always feel great, but it shouldn’t feel…ugly. Or empty. Or stretched thin between far distant facts that we had to scrounge for on the fringe despite our own intuition.”

It might feel like a jump, but all of these led me to this verse in Philippians. Think about things, think about benefits, think about risks. Think about how it will feel to make the decision. Think about how it will feel looking back on it. Do the right thing, whenever you can, and regardless of who is watching. Sometimes I think about the inconveniences of doing the right thing and when I think about the wrong thing and the guilt that will be associated, I am often driven to the “right” even it is overly burdensome. Have you made decisions that have felt bad, or ugly? Have you compromised your personal values to do something that is “right” for the greater good? Have you talked to God about these decisions while you were making them? After? Long after? Have you knowingly done the wrong thing and had to live with it after? How were you able to reconcile this?

Prayer: God who knows all of our struggles, be with us as we make decisions.  Help us to strive to do the right thing even when it is hard. Help us to dissect a decision and listen to our intuition. Help to bring us peace during our time on earth. Amen.   

Christi Moock