Day 14

The righteous one

Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor. Prov 21:21

I have been pondering on this verse for a few days, trying to glean a practical truth from it, but I kept hitting a wall. Maybe because I am tired or overwhelmed or maybe I was trying to make it fit a pattern. Either way, it was not quite working out. Not until I was speaking with one of my little sisters yesterday afternoon. We talked about a few things, nothing directly related to this verse in particular but it was a reminder how important it is to pursue God and stay rooted in Him..

Have you ever heard of a girl that goes through her boyfriend's phone and finds inappropriate messages with other ladies? Someone will usually say ‘wetin she dey find’ or ‘nah wetin she dey look for na im she find’ (I don’t know how to spell in pidgin, forgive me). Same thing with righteousness and kindness, if you are looking for them, if you are pursuing them, that's exactly what you will find. 

What is righteousness and what does it mean to pursue (follow or chase after) it? Dictionary says righteousness is characterized by uprightness or morality. This seems clear enough but by whose standards are we upright or moral? Is it culture or tradition that is constantly changing? Is it our own standards created by our twisted mix of pride and insecurities? 

A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. Pro 21:2

If the Lord is the One that weighs the heart then it must mean only His standards matter. He is the judge and He sets the standards. Thankfully He has made it easy for us through His Son Jesus Christ. 

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor 5:21

So now that we know that true righteousness can only be found in Christ, what do we do? We accept Him as Lord and Savior and chase after Him wholeheartedly and never stop. We pursue Christ by getting to know Him more and becoming more like Him in all things (not clear on how? Refer to previous posts but hint: studying His Word and praying) . As we become more like Him, our path becomes brighter and brighter because of the light of God until the full light of day when we are united with God forever (Pro 4:18, paraphrased in italics added by me). You start to see that everything about us is illuminated and our lives begin to bear the fruits of the Spirit in abundance including kindness. Can you imagine such a person and how their life is? It makes sense now when the Bible says the reward is life, righteousness, and honor or that righteousness exalts a nation. Do you desire a life like that? Please say the prayer below with me:

Prayer: Lord I desire to be like You, I desire to pursue righteousness and kindness. Teach me Your ways and how to about it so that my light is illuminated for all the world to see Your glory. Amen