Worth the Risk
Worth the Risk
Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)
For the second time that weekend, Kelly heard the medicine cabinet open and shut before her daughter RaeAnne’s friend Bekka emerged from the bathroom. Bekka’s sheepish expression intensified Kelly’s concern. Kelly slipped into the bathroom and opened the cabinet. What could Bekka be looking for among the floss, cosmetics, and skin cleansers? Then she spotted a small prescription bottle. Oh no, I never threw away the pain killers from RaeAnne’s appendicitis attack.
Kelly grabbed the bottle and opened it, recalling the few that RaeAnne had actually taken after her surgery. The bottle was half empty. Had Bekka taken them?
God, what should I do? Kelly knew she needed to confront Bekka and possibly even RaeAnne, then talk to Bekka’s parents. Kelly thought, Whether I’m right or wrong, this could tear a friendship apart. Not to mention how this will affect my relationship with RaeAnne. But if something happened and she’d kept quiet . . .
Several minutes later she knocked on her daughter’s bedroom door. “Bekka, can I talk with you privately please?”
Why can’t doing the right thing guarantee a storybook ending where everyone involved is grateful for our wisdom and courage? Instead it often involves confrontation and unpopular decisions that cost us treasured relationships. So we keep quiet instead of speaking up, cover up the truth, and do whatever is needed to keep peace.
Scripture is filled with men and women who chose the difficult road regardless of the cost. Their examples reveal that our choices often reflect the loyalty of our hearts. Are we more concerned with what people think or what God wants from us?