A man accused of burglarizing a jewelry store was on the witness stand. His attorney was making a very emotional plea to the jurors. “…So, you see ladies and gentlemen, my client is not the criminal here. He is, in fact, the victim. He grew up in poverty. You must understand if this man had the opportunities that education has afforded us, his poor man would not be here today!”

It was time for the prosecutor to cross-examine the accused man. “Do you really expect us to believe that if you had gone to school, you wouldn’t have broken into the jewelry store?”

“Yes, sir.”

The prosecutor raised his eyebrows and his voice. “Come now, do you expect us to believe that if you had gone to school twenty years ago, that you would not have broken into that jewelry store one month ago?”

“yes, sir.”

Slamming his fist on the bench, the prosecutor said, “Would you explain to these good citizens on the jury, how you can honestly blame this deliberate crime on your lack of education?”

“Yes, sir,” the man replied. “If I had gone to school, I would be able to read. I would have read the sign on the jewelry store that said it was protected by a security alarm and found somewhere else to rob.”

We need to remember that wrong is wrong, and right is right. It makes no difference if we take a dime from our mother’s purse or rob a bank, it’s still stealing. Whether we make up an excuse to give an angry parent or commit perjury, a lie is still a lie. We sometimes judge if something is wrong by our chances of getting caught or the penalty we may face. If anything we do goes against God’s word, to any degree, it is wrong. No matter what the situation, let’s take the right actions.

Joshua 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.