Righteousness

Matthew 6:31-33 (AMP)

³¹ Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ ³² For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.

The beginning of this passage is key to remember. We are not to be perpetually uneasy or distracted by things we need or want. We are not to let worries such as these take our eyes off of God. But we are, as the passage later says, to seek first God’s righteousness, further explained as “His way of doing and being right.” We often focus on repentance and baptism, but I’ve not focused much on the directive to be righteous. After further study, I see that the act of being right with God is more important than I’d ever thought.

Proverbs 21:3 (AMP)

To do righteousness and justice
Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice [for wrongs repeatedly committed].

A righteous life is more acceptable than things done to show we’re sorry for doing wrong according to Proverbs. I don’t think this is to say sacrifice or repentance wasn’t or isn’t important, but to say that the act of living right is more pleasing to God. I like the addition of “for wrongs repeatedly committed” because it shows me that I will fall but I can still try to live right and that is meaningful to God. A key phrase to take away, for me, was “to do righteousness,” showing that righteousness isn’t an inherent trait but something that must be worked at and practiced.

Ezekiel 18:22 (AMP)

²¹ “But if the wicked man turns [away] from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. ²² All of his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced [for his moral and spiritual integrity in every area and relationship], he will live.

If a man turns from evil ways and practices justice and righteousness along with keeping statutes, he will live. His sins will not be remembered against him because of righteousness that he practices. There is no mention here of simply just being righteous, but the idea that righteousness has to be practiced is reinforced. Turning away from sin added to the act of righteousness leads to our sins being forgiven, not simply repentance. In 1 John 2:29, he says that those that do practice righteousness are of God. We should focus on being righteous more than we may believe.

What is righteousness? In the Webster’s dictionary, Righteous is defined as “acting in accordance with divine or moral law.” To be righteous, we have to follow God’s commands and Jesus’ teachings. To me, saying “follow God’s commands” is different than saying to practice that act. Meaning that we have to try every moment to be righteous in every way.

Romans 6:16 (AMP)

¹⁶ Do you not know that when you continually offer yourselves to someone to do his will, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either [slaves] of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (right standing with God)?

We will be either slaves to sin or slaves to obedience to God and His Word. Not just trying to do his will, but an actual slave to obeying him. This type of obedience will lead to righteousness, the type of obedience that is compared, here, to slavery. The type that requires more dedication to following the scriptures than I had even thought about. I grew up in Church and I can honestly say that I’ve never felt like an actual slave to obedience. The picture I get in my head is of a friend of mine that seems to actually hurt when something against God happens. At times, I think her reaction to things that happen is pretty funny because it seems so naive. However, I think that our dedication should be on a similar level.

2 Timothy 3:16 (AMP)

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage];

We learn to be righteous from the scriptures along with being corrected and convicting of sin. God’s word is our guide to learning to live in God’s will.