It is entirely possible to be right on an issue and be far from Jesus…to hold the correct doctrine and conclusion on the matter but have a hard that wouldn’t know Jesus if he stood right in front of you. Jesus had this way about him that people who were “wrong” wanted to be around him and people who were “right” kept their distance. That is not a universally true statement but I think it was generally true.
There are two types of people when it comes to being right: the first is the person who wants to please the Lord and so is seeking to please God through their obedience to what God has said. Getting it right is important because God is important and His words are serious and to be obeyed. The second is the person who is out to prove just how right they can be. They are the masters of rightness…the self-right-eous.
The first puts God first and the second puts Him second.
The first understands that no matter how right they are in matters of doctrine and practice that they will still be very much wrong without Jesus. The second understands that there is a level of rightness that can be attained that puts God in their debt and at their disposal…like salvation isn’t so much a favor of grace but a debt to be paid for their unwavering righteousness.
The first will hear “well done my good and faithful servant” and focus on the servant part..the second would think of those same words as emphasizing their goodness and faithfulness.
There is a way of being right while being very much wrong and it has everything to do with the intention and direction of our actions. So let us not be careless about doing what is right but let us also not fool ourselves about where true righteousness comes from.
