Do the right thing

Last night my husband and I went to see the movie "The Kingdom". It was an excellent movie; I was surprised by the poor ratings given on Yahoo Movies reviews.

But I don't want to talk about the movie per say, I just want to think about something someone in the movie said. It was in the scene where the director of the FBI is talking with the attorney general. It was actually just one little scene in the movie. The attorney general is upset with a decision the FBI director has made and is basically telling him that it's going to cost him his job. The FBI director responds with the idea that a long time ago he realized that the day would come, sooner or later, when he would not have his job any longer (for whatever reason) and he's at peace with that. In fact, he goes on to explain that it is because he's come to terms with that fact, that he can do his job the way he believes is right. The FBI director phrased this as he can do his job not on his knees, but in charge doing as he sees fit. It was a small, side scene kind of thing, but I noticed that it not only impacted me; several people in the audience cheered about the FBI directors' statement.

That statement, to my mind, was a profound one about leadership. We can stop worrying about pleasing everyone (which of course we know we can never do anyway) and making the right political moves when we no longer carry the burden of having to "keep" our position. Once we do that we can focus on doing what we believe is the right thing.

That's one of the things my career has taught me about life in general. Whatever the "position" in life is, a job/volunteer position/marriage role/relationship/community status/etc., we have to keep it in an open hand. In my life I've found that as I make a conscious decision to trust in God that He has me, and will keep me, right where He wants me to be and I can always count on Him to provide all my needs, that I am free to do the right thing. I've got to admit that sometimes what is right is not always clear and the situation before me still requires a response "right now". In those times I just pray for wisdom and give it my best shot. Whatever the consequences, I will stand up and take them because I'm secure in knowing that I did the right thing to the best of my ability. Even more than that, I'm secure in knowing that my future is in God's hands.