Proverbs 21:21/NIV
Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor.
I never want to forget Proverbs 21:21. What pursuit of the world could match it? When we are righteous, we are in an authentic, right relationship with God Almighty of the Bible and are no longer guilty before Him. Jesus has given this gift to us as we have placed our faith and trust in Him, believing He is who He says He is. Turning from sinful ways to God and His kingdom ensures us of eternal life in His presence; something far beyond what we can imagine.
Matthew 5:6 tells us those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed and will be filled. Living in right standing with God provides us with His favor, deliverance, and safety. These benefits don’t come by our own power, but by God’s Spirit. So we must depend upon Him, as our Shepherd, to take care of us.
Moreover, Isaiah 55:2 makes an amazing point of wisdom: “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.” Not to mention Isaiah 30:33, “He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.”
The Bible tells us in Psalm 5:12 that God surrounds the righteous with favor as a shield. Also, when we face problems, God promises in Psalm 34:19, “The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.” “The Lord is a strong tower where the righteous run into it and find safety” (Proverbs 18:10).
Hence, fear or worry of trouble or lack should not be our portion. “The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17). “Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing” (Psalm 34:9). We have the Prince of Peace with us eternally–a loving Shepherd who knows very well how to care for us.
Righteousness also delivers us from premature death and leads to abundant life (Proverbs 10:2 and 11:19). However, if we pursue evil, we find death. Furthermore, we have direct access to God, as His eyes are on us and His ears are open to our prayers (1 Peter 3:12; Psalm 34:15).
We’ve been given “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4). Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone, and a new life has begun. (2 Corinthians 5:17) What a life!
Let no one deceive you. Life is not one of boredom with Christ. How can it be, living in the presence of the One who made the Universe and even our very own souls? It is an amazing honor, and hard to fathom, that we have not only been declared righteous and have peace with God (Romans 5:1), but we have now become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus since God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21)!
Never think that godliness is somehow hateful, prideful, or pointless. The Bible tells us, “… Godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come (1 Timothy 4:8). Living our lives with godly standards has great benefits.
Along with those standards, we are given the task to tell others about the Lord and what He’s taught us, remembering Luke 29:30 where Jesus states, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
The world may look messy right now, but the Lord has reminded us that “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). So let’s live our abundant lives enjoying its benefits!
