Maranatha Messenger

WHAT TO DO
WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
Do Right
(Part 1)

What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Do right! These two words were a favorite expression of the late Evangelist, Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., founder of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. On February 1, 1957, during a University chapel service, Dr. Jones preached a sermon titled, Do Right Though the Stars Fall. In that particular sermon, Dr. Jones made some tremendous statements. First of all he said, “The trouble in America today is that religious people have sacrificed the principle of right on the altar of temporary convenience.” He went on to say, “It is never right to do wrong. It is not right to do wrong to get a chance to do right.” At the conclusion of the chapel service, Dr. Jones said,

“Now, if all of you people in this auditorium today would just make up your minds that these two little words, DO RIGHT, are going to dominate your lives, you have already prepared yourselves for the problems you are going to meet. DO RIGHT. Do right if all the guns mounted on Hell’s battlement are turned on you. Do right if the stars fall out of their silver sockets. Do right if you have to die. It is better to die for the right that to live for the wrong.”

I whole heartily agree with Dr. Jones! If we would simply decide to do right we would be prepared to handle life’s problems. God has endowed every man with a moral compass! It’s called a conscience, the innate ability to determine right from wrong. Even though our conscience may be depraved, we still have the ability to choose right from wrong. The choice is yours for the making! So, what should you do when you don’t know what to do? Do right!

“DADDY, I’M PREGNANT”

Let’s suppose your fifteen year old daughter comes home from school one day and you discover she is pregnant. First of all, you pinch yourself to make sure this is not some type of nightmare. Those horrifying words ring continuously in your ears, “Daddy, I’m pregnant.” In that one phrase your entire world comes crashing in around you! Dreams of a lifetime are shattered! It is as if someone has lit a stick of dynamite and put it in your hands to let it go off. You are totally blown away! You cry until tears soak your shirt. You mind races a million miles a minute and all you can think about is “What are we going to do?” “What are we going to do?” “What are we going to do?” You would almost do anything to make this whole thing go away. You ask your daughter, “Who’s the father?” You discover he’s a fifteen year old freshman who goes to school with your child. After a couple of hours you decide to call the boys parents who are totally unaware of this situation. Needless, to say they too are devastated by this shocking news. You set up a meeting with all six people involved, both sets of parents as well as the boy and the girl. At the meeting the boy’s parents insist that your daughter get an abortion. Their rationale is that a secret abortion would make this whole thing go away. I mean let’s face it, “my son and your daughter are just kids too.” After this three hour meeting you go home totally spent, both emotionally and physically. You lay your head on the pillow exhausted! One question rolls through your mind endlessly, “What am I going to do?” Suddenly you entertain the idea of abortion. “No one will even know,” as you try to convince yourself. Furthermore, the boy’s parents made a pretty good argument about terminating the pregnancy privately. “These kids need to finish school. How are they going to complete their education if they have a baby to raise? What about college? What about their careers?” In turmoil you finally fall asleep only to wake to reality the next morning. By this time your daughter is having a terrible bout with morning sickness.

IS ABORTION AN OPTION?

I have personally talked to several Christian parents who have faced this same dilemma. With the exception of two or three, almost all confessed they were tempted with thoughts of abortion. Whereas temptation in itself is not a sin, however, to constantly entertain thoughts of this satanic procedure as a viable option is wicked. We need to remember the wisdom of Solomon who said “the thought of foolishness is sin” (Proverbs 24:9). For the Christian to consider abortion as an alternative solution to an untimely pregnancy is a sin. Dr. Jones was right! Christian America has sacrificed the principle of right on the altar
of temporary convenience! We cannot argue that terminating your daughter’s pregnancy would be convenient! But is it Right? Let’s answer five important questions.

DOES GOD’S LAW PROTECT THE BABY IN THE MOTHER’S WOMB?

Moses said, “If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart [from her], and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges [determine]. 23 And if [any] mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life” (Exodus 21:22-23). What was Moses saying? He was speaking of two men who were engaged in an argument. Their disagreement escalated into a physical altercation. A pregnant woman gets injured during the struggle. Consequently, she gives birth prematurely as a result of this fight. The Hebrew phrase lo' 'acown hayah {no mischief follows} literally means no physical harm occurs. In other words, the baby is born prematurely, but lives. Notice, Moses said he should be “surely punished” according to the husband’s desire. The men who caused this premature birth should be 'anash {punished} or fined even if the baby lives. However, should the premature infant die, Moses said, “thou shalt give life for life.” Let me use a 21st Century illustration. Suppose a drunk driver hits the car of a pregnant woman. The baby dies in the womb of this mother due to the trauma inflicted by the intoxicated driver. According to Exodus 21:22-23 the inebriated driver should be executed! God’s law provides protection for the unborn infant!

SCOTT PETERSON

Do you remember the Scott Peterson case? On Christmas Eve, 2002, Laci Peterson, 27 was reported missing from her home in Modesto, California. Laci was 8 months pregnant at the time. Her husband, Scott, a fertilizer salesman was the prime suspect in this murder case. On April 13, 2003 the remains of a male infant were found on the shore of San Francisco Bay. The next day a decapitated female body washes up on the shore near where the infant’s body was found. Both bodies were discovered a few miles from where Peterson said he went fishing the day his wife was reported missing. On April 18, 2003 the remains were identified as Laci Peterson and her baby Conner. That same day Peterson was arrest in San Diego near the Mexican border. Peterson’s hair was dyed and he had grown a goatee. A few days later on April 21, 2003 he was charged in Stanislaus County Superior Court before Judge Nancy Ashley with two felony counts of murder with premeditation and special circumstances. On June 1, 2004 the Peterson trial began. Six months later on November 12, 2004 the same six-man, six-woman jury convicted Peterson of first-degree murder with special circumstances in the death of Laci, who was eight months pregnant, and of second-degree murder in the death of the fetus, which the couple planned to name Conner. Almost one month later, on December 13, 2004 the jury sentenced Peterson to death. The prosecutors proved and the jurors agreed that Peterson killed Laci by strangling or smothering her, then dumped her weighted body into the bay. Prosecutors said Peterson killed his wife because he wanted to live as a freewheeling bachelor, unencumbered by a wife and child. Today Peterson is incarcerated on death row at San Quentin State Prison outside San Francisco. Scott Peterson did not do right and he must pay the consequences! This verdict was a great victory for all right to life advocates in American.

1. Is it ever right to do wrong to get a chance to do right?

2. How were you tempted this week to do wrong?

3. What should happen to a drunk driver that kills an unborn child?

4. Does the Bible teach right from wrong?