failing to do right

from the Daily Bread column of the Philippine Star

Failing to Do Right
Sunday, September 9, 2007

To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. — James 4:17

In his book Eight Men Out, Eliot Asinof records the events surrounding the notorious ”Black Sox” scandal of 1919. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox baseball club were accused of taking bribes from gamblers in exchange for intentionally losing the World Series. Although they were never convicted in a court of law, all eight were banned from baseball for life.

But one of those players, Buck Weaver, claimed that he had played to win despite knowing about the conspiracy. Though Weaver’s performance on the field supported his contention, baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ruled that any player who had knowledge of the scandal, yet chose not to stop it, would still be banned. Weaver was not punished for doing wrong, but for failing to do right.

In his letter to the first-century church, James wrote, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (4:17). In a world filled with evil and darkness, followers of Christ have the opportunity to shine their light. That often means we must resist the urge to do nothing.

When faced with the choice between doing good and failing to do anything at all, we must always choose to do what’s right. — Bill Crowder

Heavenly Father, help me to honor You throughout my life by being a light in this dark world May it never be said that I failed to do what I knew to be good, just, and right. Amen.

READ: James 4:13-17

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. — Edmund Burke


The Bible in one year:
• Proverbs 6-7
• 2 Corinthians 2