Doing what is right vs. what is wrong.

Today I started reading Romans. I am overwhelmed with all the wisdom in that book. If you haven't read it, you should, but pray for God to open your eyes first.

With all that wisdom, what touched my heart today was Romans 2: 9 & 10. Those verses say, "There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

Let me start by saying, In the beginning of Romans, Paul is really focusing on how we are bound to the Law of God, but that none of us can perfectly keep the Law. The only way we can ultimately obtain favor from God is through faith in Jesus Christ, who He sacrificed for us to cleanse us of our failings and sins.

However, we all know the Law of God because it is written on our hearts and we know the difference between good and evil (Romans 1:9). There is just that little voice or feeling that tells us when we are doing something wrong. The problem is when we choose to ignore it. The more we ignore it, the harder it is to hear that voice and discern between right and wrong, and that is when we get into serious trouble, isn't it?

Which leads me back to the verses I quoted in the first place. How true those words are!!! How many of us have lived those very words? Every time I have done something that I know I shouldn't have, I have been distraught, miserable, stressed, and depressed. Maybe not right away, but it always seems to come back to haunt me.

Now when I am talking evil, I am not necessarily talking about "BIG" sins like murder or adultery (although I am sure they cause tremendous tribulation!), but even the little evils like lying and procrastination. (Although in the eyes of God, there are no big vs. little sins!)

Case in point, in a recent relationship I had, my boyfriend had asked me if I had been in contact with on of my exes. I told him "no" several times before I admitted that I had e-mailed my ex. I had e-mailed him to let my ex know that I was in a new relationship and that we should both move on starting with not being in contact anymore. Even after explaining this to my boyfriend, he was hurt and angry because I had lied straight to his face. I felt awful and apologized numerous ties, but it wasn't enough. Every day for several months we fought about "The Lie". Anything I said was questioned because of "The Lie". He just couldn't trust me after that, and every day I was depressed, miserable, and had no peace because I couldn't undo it, and my boyfriend let me know that constantly. Consequently, we broke up.

Now maybe in your mind that is extreme. Maybe it is, but my point is, I did evil and the result was a ton of distress in my life. If I had been honest, things might have been different, and at the very least, I would have had peace of mind knowing I did not lie.

I look back on my life and I see that almost every time my life was a wreck it was because I chose to do something outside of the will of God. And the result? Depression, isolation, anger, stress, etc....you should get the idea. When I have chosen to do the right thing? Peace, joy, companionship, help, etc....

Now don't get fixated on being perfect, because you can't. And sometimes, the sins that are burdening us we aren't even aware of....yet. But there is hope. In Romans 2:4, Paul talks about God's kindness, tolerance, and patience with us. Thank God! Why is He like that? Not so we can continue to be evil, and not to take the distress that comes when we have done something wrong, but to bring us to a place of repentance when we see how much He loves us! Wow!