Proverbs 21:15

Great men do right – and they do it with joy. True Christians are passionate and zealous. In contrast, wicked men choose to do evil, and so God destroys them. Which are you?

If you choose to do what is right to please God, why not do it with all your might? God’s first command is for you to love Him with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your might (Deut 6:5). And this rule makes perfect sense, for He clearly deserves it.

What is judgment here? It is doing what is equitable, fair, good, just, right, and righteous. It is not punishment. It is correctly addressing a matter with the remedy pleasing God and man. It is the godly conduct of virtuous men who will only do holy and wise things. It is doing what is right (Pr 1:3; 2:9; 8:20; 18:5; 19:28; 21:3,7; 24:23; 28:5; 29:4; 31:5).

A truly godly man takes pleasure in righteous conduct. Religion or righteousness is not a burden or chore to him, but rather an exciting opportunity to do something good and right in a sinful and wicked world. To apply Bible wisdom to a situation for God’s glory and man’s fair treatment is his delightful joy (Pr 12:14; 15:23; 16:13,20; 24:5,26; 25:11).

You can be a Christian three ways. You can begrudge your service to Him and be cursed (Mal 1:6-14). You can serve Him willingly and survive (Matt 21:28-31). Or you can serve with cheerful zeal, like David, Jesus, and Paul (Ac 13:22; Jn 2:13-17; I Cor 15:10).

Many only give the minimum to the Lord grudgingly, out of obligation or necessity, and they miss the joy and God’s reward for giving. But there are a few liberal and cheerful givers, whom the Lord loves, and they get the pleasure and the blessings (II Cor 9:6-9).

Mercy is a large part of doing judgment (Jas 2:13), so God exalted mercy over sacrifices and ceremonies that He commanded (Pr 21:3; Hos 6:6; Matt 12:7). But not any view or use of mercy will work, for God expects you to love showing mercy (Mic 6:8; Ps 37:26).

Mere obedience proves no more than a slave, for that is what they do out of fear or obligation. They see God as only Master, and their service is perfunctory. Great saints love God as Father, and their service is with an excited desire to please Him as His child.

You have never seen a king, so you have not seen real honor or service. Even an unhappy face was considered offensive and could cost your life (Neh 2:1-2). If men honor other men so carefully, should you not greatly rejoice to serve the King of kings (Mal 1:6-14)?

Anything worth doing is worth doing with all your might. This was Solomon’s rule (Eccl 9:10). This was Jehu’s reputation (II Kgs 9:20; 10:16). This was also Paul’s rule, “But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing” (Gal 4:18). What about you?

How much faster and farther might the gospel spread, if more Christians had joy in doing judgment? Enthusiasm sells! Shine your light so men might glorify your Father (Matt 5:16). Live with holy joy so they might ask a reason of your hope (I Pet 3:15). Christians ought to be the happiest persons alive for countless reasons. Are you one of them?

In contrast to just men joyfully doing God’s will, worldly men give themselves over to greedily pursue lasciviousness and uncleanness (Eph 4:17-19). Ignorant and blind, God further darkens their understanding to violate each other with perversions (Rom 1:18-32).

These wicked reprobates have no pleasure in serving God. Do you? They are selfishly in love with sin. Are you? When they stand before the judgment seat of Christ, they will hear these words, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt 7:23).

Parent, your children will have rightly psychoanalyzed you by age 12. They will know how much joy you have serving God, doing right, reading the Bible, attending church, praying, and serving others. It will greatly affect their view and practice of Christianity.

Let your life from the inside out match that of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who said, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Ps 40:8). God will surely bless the man that fears Him, that delights greatly in His commandments (Ps 112:1).