Thought for Today

Genesis 15:6  And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.  

Psalm 7:8  The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.  

Matthew 3:15  But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.  

John 16:8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:

When was the last time you encountered the word righteousness outside of church? Even more frightening, when was the last time you encountered the word righteousness inside of church?

Righteousness is not a very common word in our modern lexicon, not a word often heard in public discourse. I believe that it is high time for Christians to reinsert the word and the virtue it represents back into our world.

“Righteousness, or rectitude, is the quality or state of being morally correct and justifiable. It can be considered synonymous with ‘rightness’ or being ‘upright’” (en.wikipedia.com) “Biblically the term embraces a number of dimensions relating to God’s actions in establishing and maintaining right relationships. Ethically it is a state of moral purity or doing that which is right.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 242)

Righteousness appears between 200 – 300 times in the Bible. The word in Greek is δικαιοσύνη (d kai a soon a) and was one of the very first words I was taught in seminary. The Old Testament Hebrew word (in English characters) is sedaqah.

What is there about being morally correct, morally pure, about doing what is ethically right that makes righteousness such a rare word today? Is righteousness an equally rare virtue today?

I cannot imagine any parent deliberately raising a child to eschew righteousness. Yet, equally, I cannot imagine a parent deliberately and specifically trying to inculcate righteousness in their child. It almost seems to me that our societies today are embarrassed to even mention being morally correct, morally pure, to mention doing what is ethically right.

There is a great deal of political discourse in America right now. We are in a Presidential campaign and in campaigns for both local and state positions. As we progress (?) toward November, watch the television advertisements, listen to the speeches and keep track of how many times you read or hear anything about moral purity, ethical behavior or even simply doing ‘the right thing.’

Are our candidates unsure of what is morally or ethically correct and right? Are they convinced that we are unsure or that we don’t know or care about what is ethically correct and right? Are we?

Have people today, throughout Christendom, become so jaded that we don’t care about righteousness? Maybe we just don’t want anyone to accuse us of being pious. Piety is defined in that same theological dictionary as “Devotion and commitment to God expressed in the Christian life through a variety of actions.” (pg. 210) Pious is defined as an adjective meaning “having or showing a dutiful spirit of reverence for God or an earnest wish to fulfill religious obligations.” (www.dictionary.com) Regrettably, in most modern societies pious has come to carry negative connotations of hypocrisy.

For the last few weeks our lectionary readings in worship have been from Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. In that letter, he wrote, “6:14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.”

Breastplates are pieces of metallic armor covering the chest. Their intent was to protect the core, the torso from injury. What better protection might Christians, or anyone, wear to protect our cores from injury than righteousness? Lives of being morally correct, morally pure, of doing that which is right would, in Paul’s words, “4:27 not make room for the devil.” They might not help get you elected to office, although they should help, but our world would certainly be a better place if we all lived in righteousness.

Stay safe, put on the breastplate of righteousness, trust God,

Pastor Ray