You want to make a good impression on your parents as a child. You try to please them and make them proud of you. As you grow older, your number of people to impress gets larger. You have teachers you want to impress. Then there are always your friends to impress. Later in life you have a boss and colleagues to impress.
Mark Twain has some sound advice on how you can impress those around you: “Do the right thing. It will please some people and astonish others.” That is so true. One reason for this is because so few people do it. This applies to both unbelievers and believers. You expect unbelievers to shy away from doing the “right thing.” But, even in Christian circles, people are not quick to do the “right thing.” There is peer pressure and those carnal passions that many Christians cannot resist.
The Word of God gives you some wise advice on things that you need to dwell on in your life. “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right . . . If there is any excellence and if anything, worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8). Tucked away in that verse, it says “whatever is right” is exactly what you should “dwell on.” Yes, you are to think about the right thing to do. As you think on the right thing to do, then you are to do the right thing.
Do you want to be impressive to others? Do you want to make an impression on the people you meet? There is one sure way to do this; do the right thing. It may not always be popular. It may not be the easy way out. But one thing is guaranteed, when you do the right thing, people will take notice and remember. They will remember the right thing you did and will remember that you are the one who did it.
