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].
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.
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