In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25
In the final verse of his book, the author sums up what went wrong during those horrible years of Israel’s history. What catastrophic disaster can account for the chaos, the fragmentation, the madness, the animal cruelty? Here was their mega-disaster: Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. They didn’t do what was wrong in their eyes, but what was right. They meant well. They thought they understood what would work. They were self-assured. But good intentions are not enough. Good intentions often produce bad outcomes. What we need is good judgment. And that comes from beyond ourselves. It comes from King Jesus, who rules through his Word.
“But I care so much” — the next time that thought enters our minds, justifying us to ourselves, let’s beware. Let’s ask ourselves more searching questions like, “Okay, if I’m so right, then what I feel like doing/saying will be clearly authorized in the Bible, chapter and verse. So, where is that validation? And if I can’t find it, maybe I need to doubt myself more and trust the King more, according to his royal Word. His perfect ways are better than my good intentions.”
Our golden hearts are a disaster waiting to explode.
