You Can Make A Difference
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2 Chronicles 11:13-14-And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him. 14 For the Levites left their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the LORD.
When 2 Chronicles 11 was taking place, it was a dark time in the land of Israel. It was around 931 B.C., and the twelve tribes had entered into a period of civil war. The northern ten tribes were following a wicked king named Jeroboam, while the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin were loyal to king Rehoboam. Now, to be certain, Rehoboam had made some pretty serious mistakes (see 2 Chronicles 10 and 1 Kings 12 for a good run through); but Jeroboam had rejected the Levites (the God appointed priests of Israel), and was trying to lead the Jewish people into the worship of demons.
2 Chronicles 11:14-15-For the Levites left their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the LORD. 15 Then he appointed for himself priests for the high places, for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made.
The Levites made the decision to stand up and do the right thing. They left their lands and migrated down to Jerusalem. But what I especially find encouraging is what happens next:
2 Chronicles 11:16-17-And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the LORD God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers. 17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.
The Levites-by doing the right thing-encouraged others (whose hearts were loyal to the Lord) to do the right thing also. Look at the impact that they made for good, just by doing the right thing!
The truth is, we don’t know fully what impact doing the right thing can have on those around us. Maybe others are just needing someone to embolden them to step up. What are some “right things” that we can do today to help others?
Maybe:
Share the Gospel with some lost soul?
Encourage someone who is disheartened?
Listen and weep with someone who is hurting?
Speak up for someone being oppressed?
Show kindness to someone who has been rejected?
To see another example of how the church can make a difference in the world by doing the right thing, consider the example of Albert Einstein as he faced Nazi persecution (and as recounted by Erwin Lutzer):
“In Nazi Germany, the elites, who professed a love of freedom, betrayed the people. Hear the words of Albert Einstein, exiled from Germany because he was a Jew: Being a lover of freedom, when the (Nazi) revolution came I looked to the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but no, the universities took refuge in silence. Then I looked to the great editors of the newspapers, whose flaming editorials in days gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom; but they, like the universities, were silenced in a few short weeks. I then addressed myself to the authors, to those who had passed themselves off as the intellectual guides of Germany, and among whom was frequently discussed the question of freedom and its place in modern life. They are, in turn, very dumb. Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing the truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration for it because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly. 17 We are often critical of the church in the Nazi era, but Einstein knew that the church gave Hitler the only significant opposition he had. The church might not have done all it should have done or could have done, but it did something! In the final analysis, there were heroes in Germany; there were many who took the risk to withstand the moral bankruptcy of a Nazi regime.” (Erwin W. Lutzer, When a Nation Forgets God: 7 Lessons We Must Learn From Nazi Germany, 993-1009 (Kindle Edition): Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers)
Do the right thing, even when it is hard. You don’t know the difference you might make in someone’s life!
Lord, help us to do the right thing today. You are our Example in all things. Lead us to some hurting soul and encourage us to do right by them. We love You Jesus and thank You for all that You have done (and are doing) for us. Amen.