Right vs. Easy

Daily Gratitude Year 4- Day 212: Today, I am grateful right is better than easy.

"We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy. - Albus Dumbledore

What a great quote. Albus Dumbledore was headmaster and mentor for Harry in the Harry Potter series. Harry knew nothing of easy. Orphaned as a baby. Taken in by selfish, mean relatives who never loved him or made him feel at home. He had no home until Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore became a father figure for Harry, but not one who felt pity toward the boy. No way. His role was to guide and encourage. He was without a doubt, the most influential person in his life. He never let him skate by with the easy route. He wanted him to be prepared when struggles came. knowing they would. 

There is no temptation like "the easy route". I remember hearing the words "You can do it right the first time, or you can do it again.".  Doing things right takes longer. It requires more patience. It can mean more personal investment on every level. Still, the outcome is more satisfying and more lasting.  

Now, there are time when time restraints and emergent problems require duct tap over the right fix. (Hmm...I need to put duct tape on the list of gratitude ideas.) That is for emergencies.  On ordinary days, doing the right thing is simply better.

Doing the right thing has emotional payoffs, too. We sleep better at night. Now, what is right can be subject to personal opinion, so I am doubly grateful for the guidance and the moral code my Bible provides. I am, also, grateful for the times the Holy Spirit pesters us making "the wrong thing" not worth the spiritual unrest and distress. 

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. -Psalm 119:105

The right thing is worth doing. The "payoff" is not always instant. I remember how many days Joseph spent incarcerated because he refused to sleep with his bosses wife. The account is written in Genesis 39. He did the right thing and received a jail sentence. Still, in time...God's finely milled wheel of justice proved that doing the right thing does pay off. Although, it is seldom instant, but the long term payoff is grand. Peace and contentment is directly related to the integrity rooted in choosing right over wrong. 

Integrity is doing the right thing, even if no one else sees it or knows it. 

Today, I am grateful right is better than easy.