By Janet Howser January, 2024
1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: Faith, Hope and Love; But the greatest is Love.
What does it mean to choose the hard right? Every day we’re faced with countless choices, options and opportunities. On a good day, these decisions are easy to make and we often do so without much forethought or debate. But what about the hard choices, the not so easy decisions, the unpopular options, the ones that can have a larger impact on our lives now and perhaps in the future? These are opportunities where we are called to be our true selves, to be authentic, to choose the hard right against the easy no even if others disagree or don’t understand. If the answers were always easy, we’d call it the easy right and most of us could be really happy with that. But if every choice or decision were easy, we’d sure miss a lot of opportunities to offer love and grow within ourselves and in our faith.
Authenticity is an attribute that requires self awareness. It involves awareness of our values, beliefs, our motives and awareness of what burns in our heart. When we become aware of these attributes, our natural instinct is to behave in a manner consistent with our values and beliefs and to be our true selves; to be congruent, to be authentic. But that’s not always easy especially when fear may be lurking close at hand – fear of disagreement or disapproval from others, fear of isolation, fear of going against the flow, fear of not being understood or not being popular, fear of…. the list is long. Wouldn’t it be easier to go with the flow, to agree with our peers, not make waves or just keep our opinions to ourselves? Why put ourselves in potentially uncomfortable positions? These are valid questions and oftentimes we may choose the “safer” route and that’s ok. Remember, choosing the hard right isn’t easy.
Being authentic may require speaking truth in love, standing up for or alongside the unpopular, the unloved, the unseen, or the misunderstood. Being authentic also means we’re striving to grow and act in love towards ourselves and others. We are striving to be more Christ-like by not participating in inner falsehoods or illusions that diminish the beautiful parts of us that God created. When we stand for the hard right against the easy no, we can be assured that God sees our hearts and he will stand with us. God’s love has no boundaries, conditions or limitations. Being authentic doesn’t mean being closed minded, dogmatic in our beliefs, or rigid in our views – it is in fact, the opposite. It calls for us to be fluid, insightful, diplomatic, open to new knowledge, viewpoints, and experiences. It calls for us to share our true selves with others from a place of love. When we are living in truth and love we aren’t bogged down in unnecessary expenditures of energy pretending to be something we’re not. When hard moments present and you’re not sure what option is best, just be you, be true to yourself, try choosing the hard right against the easy no. By choosing love and truth, you will be blessed and you will be a blessing to others.