We sometimes say of a Godly person that they are ‘Christ like’. While flattering, this might also be an apt description. But there is another term for godliness found elsewhere in scripture that may be a close second. It is, ‘a man after God’s own heart”.
David had an amazing life but was a normal man. He was not both man and God, like Jesus. His heart was right before God yet he also flawed and sinful. Yet, he was given one of my favourite descriptions of what a righteous person personifies. In 1 Kings 15:5 the writer explains why God preserved the descendants of an evil king named Abijah. It was because of his ancestor…David, “Because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD”.
To do ‘what is right in the eyes of the LORD’ is a short, simple statement to define righteousness, which is turn made up of several different parts.
It involves putting aside pride and self. To put aside pride means that you confess that you are created by God Most High, before whose power and majesty you willingly bow in humble reverence.
As the psalmist puts it in 95:6-7, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”
Sheep without shepherd know not where to go or what to do. But those who acknowledge God, also allow him to direct our steps and to sustain us. God goes before us…which also means that I do not lead myself.
Righteousness calls for humility:
Some people accept the fact that we are God’s creation and benefit from His care, yet they refuse to appreciate God or respect his authority. But those who are righteous before God are always humble, knowing that he rules forever.
Proverbs 18:12 puts it this way: “Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honour.”
Speaking of humility, the apostle Peter wrote: “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5,
Part of humility is accepting instruction from God, for he is not only the highest, but also the wisest.
This is reflected:
- In Proverbs 10:17, “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.”
- And also Proverbs 23:23, “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.”
Righteousness reaches out to an eternal King above
Because the God of the Bible is alone holy and eternal, we therefore direct all of our worship toward him. We are encouraged to do this through Jesus in Hebrews 13:15, which says: “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”
While it has not always been possible to enter God’s presence through the sacrifice of his Son, the psalmist’s call to worship is with us still. “I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” Psalm 138:2
Those who are righteous, love God as a matter of first importance and also their neighbour. In both the Old and New Testaments this foremost duty is clear.
“Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deut 6:4-5
Matthew 22:36-40, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
And finally a person who does what is right in the eyes of God lives by the words of the apostle Paul who wrote “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us”. (Romans 8:18, They accept the temporary nature of all things physical and the crucial importance of guarding and protecting their inward spirit – both day and night, until the storms of life are over.
Barrie ON