Knowing Isn't Doing

Do you know the right thing?

It is hard to find anyone these days who will admit to being uncertain.  Knowledge is such a powerful thing, we all claim to be in possession of it.  The question is, what do we do with the knowledge we gain?

As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.- James 4:16-17

We have been following James, and as you can tell, he is tough.  He speaks to our duty and he holds the bar high, expecting us to not only to act on what we learn, but to do what we know is right.

If we know what is right and don't do it, is that the same thing as knowing something is wrong and doing it?

I remember learning that ignorance of the law cannot be used as an excuse.  If we don't know something is illegal, we can still be held accountable.

So, it makes sense that if we do know the law, we should follow it.

What James tells us is we have an obligation to do what is right.  Knowing is obviously the first step.  But once we know what is right, we are committed to doing it.

If only everyone believed that and followed it, we could do away with so many confusing and contradictory laws. laws that lead to one of the highest incarceration rates in the world.

Perhaps we should go back to focus on doing the right things, whether the law says we have to or not.
Of course that is asking a lot.  We would first have to give up doing the wrong things and looking to get away with it.

More to come...