Have you ever heard someone say something like, “Maybe that’s right for you, but not for me”?

That type of thinking is very common these days. However, there are flaws in thinking that way. There has to be right and wrong, truth and fiction. When it comes to what music you prefer, car model you like to drive, or what you order at a restaurant, different things do work better for different people. In certain other situations, there are gray areas. There isn’t always a right or wrong. However, there are some things that are always right or wrong. Murder is wrong. Using someone as an object for your own sexual pleasure is wrong as well. Getting drunk on purpose is one more example of a choice that is wrong.

Do you remember learning how to treat others when you were young? Your teachers or parents told you that it wasn’t right to snatch a toy from another child. They disciplined you in whatever way they thought best in order to get what was right or wrong into your head. When we’re young, we accept that there is right and wrong. Kids usually have a good sense of when they have done something wrong. When we get older, it seems like we forget what we learned as kids. Many people begin to forget the concepts of right and wrong.

We’re so afraid to step on each other’s toes. We have learned to be politically correct and to let others make their own choices. In reality, this is not always the kind thing to do. Would you step back and watch your best friend jump into a fire? Of course not! You would pull them back and not let them get hurt. Unfortunately, sometimes (or maybe quite often) we do let our friends get hurt. We don’t feel like we can say anything. We don’t want them to get mad at us.

For example, maybe your friend told you they planned on getting drunk. Letting one’s friends drink themselves to drunkenness is not the kind thing to do. Getting drunk doesn’t help them in any way. In fact, it puts them in great danger. It doesn’t help those around them either—especially if they drive while drunk or become aggressive. There are definitely actions and lifestyle choices that are not right. They bring pain to the person doing them and to others as well. We are all human beings, and some choices, by their nature, are harmful to every human being.

Don’t buy it next time someone says something like “maybe that’s right for you, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for me” when they’re trying to justify a choice that will hurt them or others. Doing what is right is not always popular or accepted. It may not be the most convenient thing. Sometimes the truth is scary. It might make others angry. It might make us challenge what we’ve believed for most of our lives. Maybe it means changing our lives drastically. Don’t be afraid. Open your eyes and ears to seek the truth. Do you remember the old saying, “the truth will set you free”? Well, it’s the truth.