Friday, February 6, 2015

The pursuit of righteousness

Proverbs 21:21 (NLT)
21 Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

What it is to make religion our business; it is to follow after righteousness and mercy, not to content ourselves with easy performances, but to do our duty with the utmost care and pains, as those that are pressing forward and in fear of coming short. We must both do justly and love mercy, and must proceed and persevere therein; and, though we cannot attain to perfection, yet it will be a comfort to us if we aim at it and follow after it. [Matthew Henry Commentary]



If you want to be recognized in life, be recognized for the important things. Let others speak of you favorably. Let them acknowledge your love for others. Let them tell how you helped those in need. Yes, above all pursue righteousness and unfailing love that you might find a life of righteousness and honor.

As King Solomon tells us in The Bible, what is life but a pursuit of futility? In Ecclesiastes he said, “I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world. Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.”


Make your life meaningful, not by pursuing the treasures of this world, but by storing your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.


No comments:

Post a Comment