Somebody hit my car the other day.

I found out about it when the man who did it, who had been going from table to table looking for me, introduced himself, apologized, and offered to pay for the damage.

This is the first time something like this has happened to me.

I wonder what went through his head after he nicked my car? Was he tempted to keep going, park somewhere else, and just let the insurance company take care of it? Was somebody standing nearby, see it happen, and was he worried he would be found out? Or was he genuinely concerned with obeying that honest voice inside of him that was certainly urging him to do the right thing?

I like to think that it was the latter.

The voice that comes to us, speaking truth, no matter how costly, is almost always there. And our challenge is to obey it, to do the right thing, no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable.

This Sunday, we hear the story of Joseph, who is engaged to be married to Mary, and he hears that she is pregnant.

Certainly he was tempted to make public her adultery, to quietly put her away, or to obey the word of the Lord that had come to him that said he should stick by her and marry her.

The voice that came to him was inconvenient, perhaps uncomfortable, but clear: he was to obey his voice, do the right thing, no matter the cost.

As holiday stress increases for us this week, so will the temptation to cut corners, take the easy route, and maybe even to avoid responsibility. The word of the Lord to us is to do the right thing, to obey the voice, to be confident that our obedience to God is meant not to hinder, but to help.

Oftentimes we have a choice. May we remember God's way is the best way.