Proverbs 21:21 New Living Translation
“Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find
life, righteousness, and honor.”
To those of us
who seek righteousness and pursue it as we would anything we strongly desire,
we shall find it. We know that once we receive Christ we are seen as righteous
in the eyes of God, but that is righteousness in a positional sense. We are not
literally righteous in our way of living, at least not yet. We are to not only
pursue righteous living, but also display unfailing love. Being emotional
creatures, many times we lead with those emotions rather than rein them in. We
must lead with loving kindness and allow fairness and mercy to rule the day. “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.” [1]
There are many godly attributes that we should strive for although we
may never attain them. We should never become content with easy living, but
take the utmost care to live a life that is pleasing to our God. Christ took on
our sin willingly so that we could be free, but that is not a license to do as
we please. We can do as we please, that is true, but just as Paul tells
the freewheeling Corinthians, “not all
things are beneficial” and “not all
things are constructive”. Christian
living isn’t restrictive or at least it needn’t be. It’s not a matter of
denying oneself, but rather a matter of no longer desiring that which is not
beneficial to us.
If we live a life filled
with kindness toward others, with our sole motivation being to live a life that
is pleasing to God, we shall find righteousness and our days shall be as long
as he has ordained. Place the interests of others above yourself and you will
be blessed of God. He will shower you will untold blessings, many of which are
not material in nature, but rather attitudinal. Things we may barely notice,
but others will. It will enable you to be Christ within your circle of
influence. Touch lives for Christ and reap blessings from above. Until next time, walk with the King and be a
blessing!
Resource: Matthew
Henry’s Commentary on the Bible.
[1] Matthew Henry’s commentary on Proverbs 21:21.
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