STARTING RIGHT AND ENDING RIGHT

Proverbs 4:25-27 “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”

Uzziah was a biblical character who started right but ended wrong. Uzziah was one of Amaziah’s sons, who the people made king of Judah after his father had been sain. This man reigned about fifty-two years and it was thought to be the most prosperous reign since the time of Solomon, except that of Jehosaphat. In the earlier part of the reign of this kind, under the influence of Zechariah, he was faithful to God, and the Word of God said that he “did that which was right in the sight of Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.” (II Kings 15:3)

It would have been great if this had lasted but toward the close of his long life, the Bible records that "his heart was lifted up to his destruction," and he invaded the priest's office. (II Chronicles 26:16) He defiantly entered the sanctuary and proceeded to offer incense on the golden altar. Azariah the high priest saw the error of such a daring act on the part of the king, and with a band of eighty priests he withstood the king to his face. (II Chronicles 26:17) The king was told that he had no right to do what only the priests could do. Uzziah was suddenly struck with leprosy while in the act of offering incense. (II Chronicles 26:19-21) Uzziah was driven from the temple and compelled to reside in "a several house" (house by himself) to the day of his death. (II Kings 15:5, 27; II Chronicles 26:3) He was buried in a separate grave "in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings." (II Kings 15:7; II Chronicles 26:23)

For generations to come that lonely grave would be a testimony that even the king must bow before the will of God that is found in the law of God. It would also testify that any interference with God plan and will would not be tolerated.

What I want to point out is that Uzziah started out right but he did not finish right. That’s important. The life of any individual should not only start right but end right. It can be done. Daniel started right and ended right, even though he faced many tests and trials in his life. He was raised in a foreign land with an ungodly environment. This man took a stand when told to violate his convictions. How did he do this? He had determined beforehand “that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank:” (Daniel 1:8)

Daniel was later elevated to a very high government position. He was faithful to his personal time with God. He prayed 3 times a day and that got him the opportunity to spend a night with the lions. But it’s great to see how God vindicated him and the king made a decree that there was no god like Daniel’s God. Daniel started right and also ended right.

Another great example of starting right and ending right is Joseph. I’m not going to go into as much example of his life as I did Daniel but Joseph also faced hardships and stayed true to the plan of God for his life. He was sold by his brothers into slavery, falsely accused by his master’s wife, thrown into prison and deceived by fellow-prisoners. But God did vindicate this godly man and elevated him to second position in the nation and used him to put together a plan that eventually saved his family and the entire nation. Daniel started right and ended right.

Let’s bring this down to today. How does a person start out right and be able to end up right?

1. Get Saved – This is where it starts. In fact, if you do not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, you are not even on the road to finish right. We read in John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” This is where it begins.

2. Make Right Decisions – I learned this principle many years ago. “You are PRESENTLY the sum total of the PAST decisions you have made.” This is where many people have failed. They have made bad decisions. Maybe they have started and quit. They may have gotten involved in sin and drifted away from God. You can have forgiveness for those sins and failures. We read in I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

“You ARE BECOMING the sum total of the PRESENT decisions you are making.” This makes every decision you make important to you. If I want to finish right then I must look at every decision I have to make in light of the Word of God. Psalm 119:11 we read “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” We also read in Psalm 37:31 “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.” Pray about every decision you are called on to make.

3. Have a DAILY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – I’m talking about Bible study and Prayer. Notice what we read in II Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Reread the vese I used earlier. (Psalm 119:11)

Look at our text verses again: Proverbs 4:25-27 “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”

1. Start Right = “Let thine eyes look right on” Straightforward integrity lies at the foundation of all true excellence and permanent success. Start right with the Lord. Integrity will also take you a long way. (That will probably another “Challenging Concept” one day.)

2. Make Right Choices = “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.” I’ve talked about the importance of making right choices.

3. Be Consistent – “Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil” Some people are hot and cold! You can’t depend on them. They have good intentions, but . . . This word “but” is tragic in so many lives.

What Are You Going To Do? How Are You Going To Start? How Are You Going To Finish? I pray you have started right and will be faithful until the end!

That’s my view; how about you?