Are you going to the extreme?

“Thus says the Lord: Observe what is right, do what is just: for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed”  Isaiah 6:1

When I was a child, and I fell down and hit my head, my mother would go to the extreme and panic that I might have a concussion.  If I had a small sniffle or sneezed more than twice, my mom would immediately jump to the conclusion that I had the flu.  Heck, one time I was caught in a lie and my mother thought I was going to be a politician….

I tell you that joke for a reason, but let me start by saying that my mother was the most level headed person that I have ever known.  She would be the last person to think I had a concussion, the flu, or that I would become a politician.  I use the above joke to talk about extremes.

In today’s world, we see an awful lot of extremes.  It is all that we see on FOX news, CNN, MSNBC.  It is all that we hear on talk radio shows, whether or not the subject is politics, sports, the social justice wars that are happening, all of them appear to be going to the extreme.  The Floyd/McGregor fight coming up next weekend sounds like McGregor should not even show up.  The groups rallying and protesting the statues and monuments and meeting the opposite side of their belief causing violence, is definitely the extreme.  Is only showing the extreme what is important in our lives, or the only thing we wish to see?  I hope not.

Today, I share the passage from Isaiah because I think it is truly where our focus should be.  While there is so much negativity going on in our world, and all we see is the extreme, it is important to know that there are so many other people “observing what is right, and doing what it right.” 

I have always said that doing the right thing is often the hardest thing to do.  I often catch myself falling into the trap of the extremes whether it is in discussion or in my thoughts.  Whether it be a political discussion or driving home from work, I often find myself in a situation in which I can let my personal feelings get in the way of doing what it right.  It is easy to tailgate the car in front of me so I do not have to let anyone merge in front of me, but the fact is, if I am doing that, and so is everyone else, that is probably the reason we are in this jam in the first place. 

Let’s make it a point to focus less on the extreme and more on doing what it right, even when it is hard.  Doing the right thing, even when it is hard to understand, or hard to explain to our children, is always the best example and as Isaiah says, "will lead to salvation."