From The Pastor’s Pen – By Brian Horrobin
The great English preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, once gave a fantastic definition of discernment. “Discernment” said Spurgeon, “is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”
When I was first married I received the gift of a microwave cart that came in a box and needed to be assembled.
I am not a handy sort of fellow, so I called a man in my church to come and help me.
He readily obliged and quipped, “These things are dummy-proof!”
WE tackled the project fairly easily but when we finished and stood back to admire our completed project we both collapsed in laughter.
Somehow, some way, we had managed to put the handle of the drawer on the inside instead of the outside. The job was mostly right, but not quite, and the “not quite” ruined the finished project.
The repair was easily repaired but life doesn’t always work out that way.
Fudging facts slightly, showing up a little bit late, telling a half-truth – these are ways that we can be “almost right” instead of just plain right.
The result is a missed target.
The Bible calls “missing the target” by a nasty little three-letter word: SIN.
Oh yes, we can justify our actions and excuse the discrepancy by declaring that we got most of it right, or were almost on time, or “it’s just a little amount; they won’t notice the difference” but the fact is, our conscience knows the truth.
My father used to say to me, “Brian, if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”
I take that to mean finishing tasks, not short-changing people, and trying to be at appointments on time.
Hey, none of us are perfect but we can at least aim in that direction.
So, do your best to do it right!
