Jeremiah 22:3

Do no wrong.

Wrong

The meaning of the word “wrong” is, something that is twisted from the straight line. Do you say you have not done wrong? When you set yourself up as a pattern of goodness, and at the same time turn up your nose at your erring acquaintance, it leads one to think that your angelic profession may cover the filthy rags of human sin. Some people profess too much. If they would acknowledge to some fault and confess that occasionally they are common metal like everybody else, we should respect them. People who will not permit you to think that they have ever done wrong, are often very unfeeling in their dealings with a person that has “made a fool of himself.” The man who feels himself to be a wrong-doer, is the most compassionately helpful to those that have fallen. When I hear anybody speaking harshly or ridiculing somebody who has done wrong and been found out, I fear that the only way to save them is for God to let them also fall into the mire of iniquity. Bear patiently with wrong-doers, and give them time to repent. Had they possessed your light, your education, your good parents and your virtuous surroundings, they might have lived a nobler life. When a man or a woman has done wrong, do not cast a stone at them; let us, if we can, lead them on to the path of right.

1. Let me urge that you do no wrong in your intentions. Let us weigh well our motives. Before doing any act, we should consider its intent, and ask ourselves, “What is my intention? Is it the glory of God, the good of man, or only my own advantage--my own indulgence?” When the intention is wholly selfish it is pretty sure to cause disappointment and misery; but when the intention is unselfish, it is likely to result in happiness both to ourselves and others.

2. It is also a matter of course that every true Christian should do no wrong in his practice. We profess much; let us seek to practise what we profess. I do not suppose that we are at present on such a high level as that shown in the spirit of the life of Christ; but let us aim at it, and though we fall, let us rise and try again. A farmer one day went to his landlord, Earl Fitzwilliam, saying, “Please, your lordship, the horses and hounds last week quite destroyed my field of wheat. The earl said “I am very sorry; how much damage do you think they did?” The farmer replied, “Well, your lordship, I don’t think £50 would make it right.” The earl immediately wrote out his order for £50 and handed it to the farmer, saying, “I hope it will not be so bad as you think.” So they parted. Months afterwards, the same old farmer came to the hall again, and when admitted into the library, said, “Please, your lordship, I have brought back that £50.” The earl exclaimed, “Why, what for?” The farmer said, “Well, because I find that the trodden field of wheat has turned out to be a better crop than any of the others. So I have brought the money back.” The earl exclaimed, “This is as it should be; it is doing right between man and man.” He tore up the order and wrote another, saying, “Here, my good friend, is an order for a hundred pounds; keep it by you till your eldest son is twenty-one and then give it him as a present from me, and tell him how it arose.” Now I think the honest farmer sets a good example to us all No doubt the tempter whispered in the ear of his soul, “The earl will never miss that £50. Why, farmer, you don’t mean to say you are going to give the morley back!” But the honest old John Bull of a farmer replied, “It would be wrong, you know, for me to keep that £50.” Do no wrong to your neighbour, either in competition of business, or in your social and political relationship. Every man has a weak side to his character, and a tendency to do wrong in some direction. In other words, every man is a spiritual invalid who wants a heavenly prescription to restore him to health. Now, when your body is ill, you send for a doctor who counts your pulse and asks where your pain is, and how you feel. If you do not tell him all the truth, he does not know how to treat you. In the same way, when we are spiritually sick, we should confess all the symptoms of our sin-disease to the Great Physician of heaven. Let us be humble and honest enough to tell Him our sins. (W. Birch.)