THRIVING RIGHTEOUSNESS

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding; but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.

When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.

Proverbs 28:28, 29:2

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever experienced thriving righteousness?

I know I have although I think there was a period in my life when I wouldn’t have understood what it meant to thrive righteously.

For there’s a big difference between just seeking to live right and flourishing in righteousness.

Look at these words of Jesus as He discussed this distinction using a separate topic:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Matthew 5:43-48

The point that Jesus was trying to make was that it’s just not good enough for Christians to do what everyone else does. We have to take our behavior to a whole new level.

Anyone can love the people who love them. The challenge comes when we consider loving someone who hates us, someone who is our enemy.

It’s easy to just hang around with the people you are most comfortable with, those who believe what you believe and are in agreement with you on matters of life. The challenge comes when you have to go out and affiliate with people who are strikingly different that you, who may even hate you for what you believe.

And it’s easy to just feel compelled once and while to do right. Anyone does that. The challenge comes in committing yourself to be totally successful toward doing right all the time, not just some of the time.

Love when it’s not easy. Commune with others when it’s not easy. Do right always, not just when it’s convenient for you.

In other words, be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect and although we’ll never be perfect, we can strive to emulate our Lord in everything we do – in the way we love, the way we fellowship, and in the ways we behave in His sight and the sight of others.

Think about how much better our world would be if everyone adopted this mindset, to be perfect as their heavenly Father, the One who made them, is perfect. For in such a scenario, sin and wickedness would be displaced by holiness and a thriving righteousness that can only come when the people of God allow Him to dominate their hearts and minds and souls, making His will their very own in all matters. In other words, the teaching of Jesus in the Beatitudes would come alive as those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will find themselves filled to overflow.

Friends, would this not bring us to a place of rejoicing as we see our world change into one where righteousness prospers to unprecedented levels, completely overshadowing and supplanting evil and malice. We would see the words of Solomon as expressed in the following verses come to life:

When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding; but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive. Proverbs 28:28

When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan. Proverbs 29:2

People thrive in righteousness when wickedness perishes and has no place within the people of God. And when the people of God reside in the midst of thriving righteousness, they do so in the spirit of jubilation and exultation with a sense of exceeding gladness.

My prayer is that every man and woman today might commit or recommit themselves to righteousness and goodness over iniquity and depravity, just not with a part of who they are but with all that they are. For when we all do this, let the rejoicing truly begin.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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