Philippians 4:8 - No 3. What is Right

 "That just isn't right!"

We normally hear that in reference to something that's weird, bizarre or kinky by societal standards.
When it's something of a more serious nature, people say, "That's not fair!"

Somehow we all have some innate sense of justice: what makes something unfair and what it would take to put things right again. Justice does precisely that.

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right..." (Philippians 4:8)

The apostle Paul says that in addition to fixing our thoughts on what is true and honest, we should think about what is right. But how do we define right? Some have the notion that there are no absolute standards of right and wrong, that "right" is defined by the culture or the individual; that somehow, everyone can be right and no one is ever really wrong. But to say that there are absolutely no absolutes is self-contradictory. Where does that leave us? 

Justice is often personified as a blindfolded lady, holding scales. Justice is blind only as far as it should be impartial. But in order to balance the scales, in order to put things right again, we need to clearly discern right from wrong.

 

In the verse we've been looking at, the word "right" is associated with the word "righteous." Either word is defined by God's standard of right and wrong. If you want a full-blown picture of what that looks like, God has given the Ten Commandments. 

In turn, Jesus summarized the Old Testament law this way, that the most important thing is that...
"‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ [and secondly], ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" (Matthew 23:37 & 39, New Living Translation, 2015)

When you have a sense of injustice, ask yourself:
How has love to God not been shown?
How has love not been extended to people? 

But to fixating on injustice, on things not being "right," ignores Paul's advice. That's why we pray,

God, open our eyes to see what is not right--first in our own lives, and then in the world around us. We want to see these things clearly so that we can cooperate with You in putting things right again. In Jesus' name, Amen.