It is my genuine belief that just because something is good does not mean it is right. Can a good thing actually be the wrong thing? What could happen when good and right meet at the intersection of life and the traffic signals are broken? Does one sit at the intersection indefinitely? Do we haphazardly decide to stay or go?  Dr. Myles Munroe a successful pastor, leadership speaker notably quoted the enemy of right isn’t wrong. The enemy of right is good. One of the greatest distractions to mankind is busy work. Busy work encompasses looking effective but not necessarily being effective in what the work was originally designed to do. Therefore looking right but not necessarily being right. Doing good but not doing right. How many of you know you can do a good thing at the wrong time. This makes the good thing wrong because it wasn’t done at the appropriate time. What if the work accomplished was (good at) what it was designed to do yet (not right) in how it was designed to do it. Simply put, the concept is good but the payout wasn’t right because of how many causalities it caused. 1 Corinthians 10:23 (biblical text) exemplifies this beautifully… All things are permissible but not everything is beneficial. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

As a young man, this can be a very hard lesson learned.  The good thing, providing for you  and your family. The wrong thing, robbing stealing and selling drugs to do it. The good thing, marrying the women  you impregnated. The wrong thing, marrying just because you impregnated the women. The good thing, escaping consistent problems if only for a while. The wrong thing, expecting weed and alcohol to be the consistent solution. This embodies the sometimes conflicting principles of  good and right. The recent tragic passing of NBA legend Kobe Bryant has reminded me of this very principle. His death has brought about a lot of good things of course.  There are a lot of tributes, celebrations of life, honoring ceremonies. It’s created a fresh wind of consciousness in how fragile life really is. Shown the humanity of mankind with the love and support being expressed throughout for his family and others. Some folks have recommitted to their families, principles of value intent and purpose. Unfortunately, I believe it has also brought along some wrong things or not so right things.  Some well intent fans have created shrines. There are permanent body tattoo tributes being applied right now as you read this article. Faultless, sanctified portraits are being laced on canvases throughout the world. The Laker’s good, decent and honorable act of gifting every attendee with Kobe jerseys attending the first game since his death exemplified this relationship between good and right. Shortly thereafter the same jerseys were then auctioned off on eBay. Why is this?  ‘Right‘ and ‘good‘ these two basic terms can be complex in the decision-making process. But they don’t have to be. In general, something is ‘right‘ if it is morally obligatory, whereas it is morally ‘good‘ if it is worth having or doing and enhances the life of those who possess it. These things can again be one- and- the- same but it takes a great deal of insight,  and wisdom to align the two.

I mentioned early that good can be compared with busy-ness, whereas right can be compared to effectiveness. The only way to live effectively is to prioritize what is right and not what is good. It’s important to know the difference. Some priorities may be good but not correct. Pre-occupation with priority protects and preserves what is right “for all” instead of what is good “for some”. It eliminates the possibility of messy, embarrassing, insensitive, and distasteful outcomes.   An Improperly executed good thing makes that thing a wrong(not right) thing. Yes, there are variables beyond our control in the aftermath of the execution. But there are never any beyond our control in the planning stages. Exhaust all reasonable outcomes. Look beyond the moment of just doing good, because what’s right is at stake. The long-lasting effects of what is right will do just that..outlast what is good.