Going along with the crowd

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesnõt do it, sins. James 4:17

They all do it - so what? growled the cab driver. He was talking about policemen who took bribes and one of them who, after receiving money from him, waved him on when he drove in the bus lane.

There's a thin line between right and wrong, acceptable behavior and unacceptable behavior. But over time that thin line has been blurred so much that in some cases it is almost unrecognizable.

Hey, why should you object to my mistress? a father of four daughters asked his family as I sat and listened. Then he added, Didn't I take care of all of you? What I am doing doesn't hurt you!

Little by little, the voice of conscience grows weaker and weaker until it no longer speaks. We have become a no fault society where we excuse corrupt behavior because everybody is doing it. Lacking the courage to speak, we back away from confronting wrongdoing.

Knowledge of right and wrong isn't legislated. It begins with spiritual reformation of the heart. You can decide that no matter what others do, you will refuse to do wrong; you understand that getting away with something doesn't justify it.

Integrity 101 is generally taught at a mother's knee, not in a university or even a values seminar. But if you had no one to show you the way, you can learn what it is as the Holy Spirit teaches you. The army of those who are the salt and light of society may be small, but they can make a big difference when they are strong enough to refuse to be intimidated by the scorn of those who say, Everybodys doing it. When you donÕt do it, you make a difference. You don't have to go along with the crowd.