Outcome

Doing the right thing even when it does not pay takes faith.  It is more than just faith in the principle involved.  It takes faith in community, faith in others, and faith in outcomes that will follow.  When I think of this I flash to a taxi driver in Singapore who told me story after story of enjoying doing the right thing when it was needed most. 
It was an interesting conversation.  There was someone ahead of me that needed help.  I was there, I was in a state of reflection, and there was nothing particularly pressing or stressful in my mind at the moment.  It was as perfect as a moment can be at the end of a very long, tiring day away from those closest to my heart.  In that moment an opportunity presented itself and I, as most people would have done, responded.  There was nothing special about my choice.  I am confident almost any and everyone would have responded as I did in the moment.  Yet it inspired one taxi driver to tell me stories of Singapore.
I loved our conversation!  It was inspiration in a way that few things are.  As we talked I could feel the energy being poured into my tired soul.  As he shared I knew I was in the presence of a man inspired by God and filled with the Spirit.  It was a magical moment that occurs anytime I wonder about process or listen to another's fears, uncertainties, and doubts about process.  This was a man who believed and lived his belief.
God knows this man.  God lays out what he lives.  The instructions and promise are clear.  “When you pray, God will answer.  You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'  If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins, if you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.”  (Isaiah 58.9, 10)