Being upright in conduct does not guarantee us earthly rewards.  It won’t necessarily make us rich, or successful, or popular.  In fact, the Bible tells us that oftentimes, the upright man is quite unpopular.

Proverbs 29:27 says that “[a]n unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.”

Remember the story of Cain and Abel?  Abel does right and his sacrifice is accepted by God, while his brother Cain’s is not, and so Cain is furious with Abel.   God gives Cain another chance, saying to him, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?”  But instead of doing what is right…Cain kills his brother.  “He that is upright is an abomination to the wicked.”

There is a cost to being upright.  It may not cost you your life, like Abel; and it may not be every time; but choosing the straight and upright path consistently will make you unpopular with someone at some point. 

And when that time comes, just remember what Cicero said: “I have always been of the opinion that unpopularity earned by doing what is right is not unpopularity at all, but glory.”

Now for the Friday Funnies:

A man went to visit a friend and was amazed to find him playing chess with his dog. The man watched the game in astonishment for a while.

“I can hardly believe my eyes!” he said. “That’s the smartest dog I’ve ever seen.”

“He’s not so smart,” the friend replied. “I’ve beaten him three games out of five.”

Have a wonderful day and holiday weekend.