How do we live a righteous life?
TODAY'S PROVERB: The righteousness of the blameless man makes his way straight, but the wicked man is brought down by his wickedness. Proverbs 11:5
Righteousness is a big word. We know our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64: 5[6]). Yuck. We know Yeshua is righteousness personified. So, where do we go from here?
This proverb provides some direction for us. A primer to living a righteous life. In order to live a "blameless" life--to the best of our flawed ability--there are characteristics that we should seek. At the least, set goals toward. Here are a few:
HONESTY: Being honest is more than not telling lies. Living an honest life means what we say is what we live. We can speak truth, but not live it. An honest person lives truth to the best of their ability.
KINDNESS: Kindness is a state-of-being. We can be nice--do nice things, but kindness is not about the task. It's about seeing the person first, then seek ways to help.
GRACIOUS: A righteous soul intimately knows the grace of GOD in their own life. They know it so well they are adept at demonstrating it to others.
FORGIVENESS: The same with forgiveness. We forgive because He forgave us. We do it out of obedience and gratitude, and necessity for our own spiritual health.
HUMILITY: Humility recognizes authority. Most importantly, they recognize the Ultimate Authority, GOD. To operate in humility is to keep our gaze upright--on Him. Not on others as competition, but as co-workers, brothers and sisters.
VIRTUOUS: To be virtuous is to be chaste and live a moral life without pride, yet with a clear understanding of what these means in this world.
GOOD CHARACTER: Our character is what others see. It's what others talk about. Do they respect us? Trust us? When we say we're going to be somewhere, are we there? Is our "yes, a yes?" Our "no, a no?" Our life doesn't revolve around what others think about us, but how people see us, CAN reflect on how others see our Heavenly Father.
WISE: Yes, to be live righteously we need GOD's wisdom, discernment, knowledge, and understanding. It's how He shows us the way to live a righteous life.
Each day, all day, we are presented with choices to live in honesty, kindness, graciousness, forgiveness, humility, virtuously, and wisdom. When others watch us--and they do watch us--will they see one with good character?
When we exemplify what Jesus did for us each and every day, others will be drawn to Him. If others can hear who GOD is so clearly and eloquently without us ever speaking a word, we're living a righteous life.
May we live righteously, my friends.
Proverbs 11:5, Tree of Life Bible Society, Tree of Life Version - TLV #tlvbible #tlvproverbs
[WATCH Tree of Life Bible Society's CEO, Daniah Greenberg and me, Terri Gillespie, Author dig a little deeper with this proverb. Check us out at Tree of Life Bible Society, Monday through Friday, LIVE at 8:30am EST. Watch previous episodes there as well. Stay wise, my friends!]
Righteousness is a big word. We know our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64: 5[6]). Yuck. We know Yeshua is righteousness personified. So, where do we go from here?
This proverb provides some direction for us. A primer to living a righteous life. In order to live a "blameless" life--to the best of our flawed ability--there are characteristics that we should seek. At the least, set goals toward. Here are a few:
HONESTY: Being honest is more than not telling lies. Living an honest life means what we say is what we live. We can speak truth, but not live it. An honest person lives truth to the best of their ability.
KINDNESS: Kindness is a state-of-being. We can be nice--do nice things, but kindness is not about the task. It's about seeing the person first, then seek ways to help.
GRACIOUS: A righteous soul intimately knows the grace of GOD in their own life. They know it so well they are adept at demonstrating it to others.
FORGIVENESS: The same with forgiveness. We forgive because He forgave us. We do it out of obedience and gratitude, and necessity for our own spiritual health.
HUMILITY: Humility recognizes authority. Most importantly, they recognize the Ultimate Authority, GOD. To operate in humility is to keep our gaze upright--on Him. Not on others as competition, but as co-workers, brothers and sisters.
VIRTUOUS: To be virtuous is to be chaste and live a moral life without pride, yet with a clear understanding of what these means in this world.
GOOD CHARACTER: Our character is what others see. It's what others talk about. Do they respect us? Trust us? When we say we're going to be somewhere, are we there? Is our "yes, a yes?" Our "no, a no?" Our life doesn't revolve around what others think about us, but how people see us, CAN reflect on how others see our Heavenly Father.
WISE: Yes, to be live righteously we need GOD's wisdom, discernment, knowledge, and understanding. It's how He shows us the way to live a righteous life.
Each day, all day, we are presented with choices to live in honesty, kindness, graciousness, forgiveness, humility, virtuously, and wisdom. When others watch us--and they do watch us--will they see one with good character?
When we exemplify what Jesus did for us each and every day, others will be drawn to Him. If others can hear who GOD is so clearly and eloquently without us ever speaking a word, we're living a righteous life.
May we live righteously, my friends.
Proverbs 11:5, Tree of Life Bible Society, Tree of Life Version - TLV #tlvbible #tlvproverbs
[WATCH Tree of Life Bible Society's CEO, Daniah Greenberg and me, Terri Gillespie, Author dig a little deeper with this proverb. Check us out at Tree of Life Bible Society, Monday through Friday, LIVE at 8:30am EST. Watch previous episodes there as well. Stay wise, my friends!]
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