Right is only “right” when there is an objective point of view to determine what right is.
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6 ESV)
The story that this passage comes from is curiously placed in the book of Judges. The context of the story is this: there was a man who stole money from his mom. Only after his mom cursed the person who stole her money did he offer to return it to her. In some weird parenting moment, the man’s mom says, “the Lord bless her son for being so honest.” She then makes an idol from her returned money and the man makes a shrine for the idol in his house. Then the man makes his son the priest for the idol his mom made for him after he reluctantly returned money he stole from her in the first place.
A few things to note about this story and this passage. First: people are horribly subjective with their judgement, and their reactions prove their inconsistencies. Case in point is the man’s mom cursing the robber and blessing the robber who happened to be her own son. Second: a king anchors people to a perspective that defines righteousness. That means the people or things that rule us defines our perspective on what is right. That is why our parents tell us to choose friends wisely; because they become kings in our hearts and their values start defining our righteousness.
If you want objective righteousness that is never changing and fair we MUST make Jesus the king of our lives. This will ensure that our “right” will not be subjective but supremely grounded in the objective king of the universe.
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