Do The Right Thing

Cecil Taylor

“No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD. — Isaiah 54:17 NIV

I taught my children a key phrase and an important lesson. I taught the same message to youth for 30 years in youth ministry.

Do the right thing, and others will follow.

I’ve found this to be true throughout my life. Sometimes, people are too afraid to do the right thing. They’ll often go along with the crowd. But when a person stands up and does the right thing, some will stand behind them. Someone needs to go first and do the right thing.

In the small town where I attended high school, teens were allowed to enter the local dance hall, where alcohol was served. We had to wear a stapled ticket on our collars to show our age to the bartenders.

Of course, teens are creative to a fault. Many of my peers found ways around the rules regarding underage drinking. They’d have an adult buy and slip alcohol to them. If that was too direct a path, the teens would roam around, looking for an abandoned table that hadn’t been cleared yet. They’d drink the alcohol remaining in the glasses. Yuck!

My sister and I, along with a small circle of friends, stayed away from participating in underage alcohol consumption. We’d regularly receive criticism and peer pressure from our friends. But we held steadfast.

Deidra, a sophomore, kept drifting into a crowd where alcohol flowed freely, and getting drunk became a gateway to even more trouble. One Friday night, she came to our circle to hang out and just have fun dancing. She came again the next week and became a regular. Deidra told my sister and me, “When I’m around you, I don’t even have a desire to get involved in the bad stuff.”

Do the right thing, and others will follow.

FINDING MY VOICE

In the past few months, I feel the Lord has compelled me to use my writing and speaking in new ways. I have been speaking out about our country’s lack of commitment to biblical justice, as I understand it through prayer and contemplation. I’ve been using my gifts to serve God more boldly.

I try to be intentional about when I write or speak, and I usually wait until I feel a sense of clarity before doing so. Recently, I didn’t have that clarity, but I still chose to post something on Facebook anyway. After reading a friend’s thoughtful response, I realized it wasn’t the right moment and decided to take the post down.

As you can imagine, not everyone has appreciated what I’ve had to say. A few people have pushed back hard. I’ve lost lifelong friends who don’t agree with me, despite my respectful, factual responses to their diatribes, some of which are directed at me rather than the topic.

The response has been consistently supportive, far outweighing any criticism. Sometimes publicly, more often privately, people have thanked me and encouraged me to keep going. They frequently share, “You’ve empowered me to find my voice and given me the courage to speak out as well.”

ENCOURAGED BY GOD’S PROMISES

Isaiah 54:17 has comforted me during this journey. I interpret that when we are servants of the Lord, the battle is won without our might but with the Lord’s. To hear “no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you” emboldens and empowers me to keep going. I also attempt to follow another prophetic passage, Micah 6:8, which instructs me in part “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

When we follow these scriptural guidelines, God promises unstoppable results.

Now, the Isaiah passage doesn’t say I won’t get nicked by the weapon, but it does say the weapon will not prevail. The passage doesn’t indicate that accusers won’t have their say.

But it does assert I don’t have to worry about my vindication, which is in the hands of the Lord. When we consult God and obey, we no longer have to concern ourselves with human reactions and the consequences others assign us.

My family’s heritage is that we try to “do the right thing,” individually and collectively. I’ve seen my children follow my lead in many instances, even down to minute decisions like making sure our restaurant bill is correct and we don’t take advantage of a mistake on the charges.

The heritage of the servants of the Lord is that we try to live righteously as well. We are protected when we seek the Spirit’s counsel and do the right thing.

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Prayer: Holy Father, teach us to humbly seek righteous answers and then execute your holy instructions. Block us from becoming arrogant to assume every thought in our head aligns with your thinking. Help us truly and meekly comprehend your will and then embolden us to follow it. Protect us from all the arrows of our opposers. And when we do the right thing, use our sacrificial contribution to inspire others to act courageously and follow our path that emerges from your wisdom. Amen.

Your Turn: Have you been afraid to do the right thing? Have you been hesitant to speak out because of what people might say to you and about you? Study scripture to confirm your thinking, not to justify your own preference and bias, but to understand what God desires of us. Then consult God through prayer and abiding. Lean on the Lord as you find your voice, summon your courage, and act. Know that when you do, the journey won’t necessarily be easy, but you’ll be protected by the Lord’s shield.

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 Cecil Taylor is a new blogger for The Man Cave 

He understands the complexity of calling. As the son of a preacher, he has spent a lifetime discerning how faith, vocation, and everyday life intersect.

Over the years, Cecil has followed God’s leading through successful careers in software development, broadcast radio, and product management at the forefront of the telecommunications industry—while also serving more than 40 years teaching adults and youth in the church. Through that journey, he has wrestled with a question familiar to many Christians: how to faithfully live out a call to Christ while navigating career, family, and the demands of daily life.

Cecil Taylor Ministries exists to help believers embrace a practical, seven-day faith—one that recognizes God’s presence not only in church, but in work, relationships, habits, and identity. His teaching emphasizes that every day can reflect the intimacy, growth, and purpose often associated with Sunday worship.

With an MBA in Corporate Entrepreneurship and decades of experience applying leadership principles in ministry settings, Cecil equips churches, small groups, and individuals through accessible video series, leader guides, and teaching resources. While rooted in the Wesleyan/Arminian tradition, his work is intentionally cross-denominational and grounded in the historic creeds of the early church.

Cecil’s thinking has been shaped by writers such as C.S. Lewis, William Barclay, John Wesley, Henri Nouwen, and François Fénelon, as well as faithful mentors who modeled practical, compassionate Christianity. His heart remains focused on helping others integrate faith into every part of life—learning not only how to lead, but how to follow Christ more fully.

https://www.ceciltaylorministries.com/about