Call of Duty

Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

– Isaiah 1:17

A vital part of the human experience involves situations that call us to do the right thing — even if it could be costly, unpopular, uncomfortable, or inconvenient. A few years ago, for example, a judge in western Pennsylvania decided to spend the day in the county courthouse. While that sounds like it should have been business as usual for her, Judge Linda Fleming happened to join 119 of her fellow citizens who had also reported for jury duty. In the end, she wasn't seated as a juror because an attorney objected to her presence in that capacity. Nevertheless, Judge Fleming was determined to do her civic duty and serve, or at least make herself available, rather than use her position as an excuse to avoid it.

Doing the right thing isn't just the right thing to do, it's also a biblical principle. As James 4:17 puts it, "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."

There are times when doing the right thing takes courage. We might never face a powerful enemy on the battlefield, but we might take on different kinds of opponents — like injustice, crime, or discrimination — that we have no hope of defeating on our own. The good news for Christ-followers is that we're called by our Creator to be strong and brave. And we're not alone with what might threaten us. In fact, we can be encouraged by all the average people like you and me that God has empowered to do the extraordinary against overwhelming odds.

A familiar example involves David — then an obscure shepherd-boy — who defended his nation by killing the giant Goliath with a single stone from his slingshot. And it was this same shepherd-boy who eventually became King of Israel and the one God called "a man after My own heart." Likewise, the apostle Peter literally dove into the deep end when he accepted Jesus' call to walk on water. After he began to doubt his circumstances, Peter also began to sink. But Jesus saved him once the struggling follower called out in faith. This same follower — who would eventually deny Jesus to others three times — later became a bold preacher of what the book of Acts described as The Way (the Good News about his Savior, Jesus Christ). Two books of the New Testament also bear Peter's name.

As Christ-followers, we can take heart. It might be a scary world out there, but God doesn't expect us to solve all the world's problems. Instead, it's by seeking and using his power in faith that we can make a world of difference. And it all starts when we do the right thing and respond to our call of duty.