Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t make it right. Here are some reasons why we should not do things just because everyone else is doing them.
We are God’s Servants:
“Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.” (Nehemiah 1:6)
This was Nehemiah’s prayer to God. He recognized that he and his father’s house and all the children of Israel had sinned. Everyone had sinned and gotten to themselves judgment from God. Now Nehemiah was confessing these sins, including his own. He was acknowledging that he should not have been doing what everyone else is doing because he is God’s servant.
God Has Set Us Apart for Himself:
“But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.” (Psalm 4:3)
We are set apart. God has set us apart for Himself. We should do what pleases God even if it is not what others are doing. Verses four and five go on to say, “4Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 5Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.” It can be a sacrifice to do right when everyone else is doing wickedly. But we can offer these sacrifices to God, and He will accept them. Our awe of God should keep us from sin.
Our Delight Should be in the LORD:
“4Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.” (Psalm 37:4-6) Our delight should be in the Lord. Our way should be committed to Him.
The Rewards of Doing What God Wants Instead of What Others are Doing:
1. God will hear our prayers. (See Nehemiah 1:6 and Psalm 4:3)
2. God will help others because our prayers are accepted with Him. (See Nehemiah 1:6)
3. Our sacrifices of righteousness will be accepted with God because we are set apart to Him and are standing in awe of Him. (See Psalm 4:3)
4. God will give us the desires of our heart
5. God will show us the right way
6. God will take care of us because we trust in Him
7. God will bring us out into a sure place, into a place of light
8. God will show the difference between the right way and the way of those doing wickedly. He will bring to a place of light that which is righteous. (See Psalm 37:4-6)