Monday, August 25, 2025

            One theme that emerges in Proverbs 14-15 is righteousness.  In these two chapters, we are encouraged to walk uprightly, to be wary of ways that seem right but only end in death, to know that righteousness exalts a nation and to recognize that the home of the righteous contains great treasure.  And all this comes from only two chapters! Righteousness is an important word in the Bible.  We are credited with the righteousness of Christ at our salvation when our sins are transferred to Jesus and the cross while His innocence is transferred to us in return.  Proverbs 15:9 says that the Lord loves “those who pursue righteousness.”  And most of us would prefer to be righteous rather than wicked.
            But there is a problem. We are not naturally righteous.  We are not born righteous like we might be born right-handed, with brown eyes and curly hair.  We are born in the same line of humanity where defiant Adam stands.  He was the first sinner and, tragically, that sin inclination has been passed along to you and me.  Left to ourselves, we will turn from God and choose the ways of death rather than life.  We often sing “prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the One I love.”  Isaiah the prophet wrote, “we all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way” (Isaiah 53:6a).
            The Proverbs commend us to live righteously.  We are to submit and surrender our will to the Lord so He can change and transform it.  When we come to Christ, we are filled with the Holy Spirit.  We are not left alone to figure things out or to try to manufacture a righteousness of our own.  Proverbs teaches us some ways that we can live righteously in actions, words, attitudes and dispositions.  For example, we are told not to hate correction (15:10b).  A reproof or rebuke from the Lord has the power to change our lives and turn us from pathways that lead to death to roads that lead to life (14:12).  We have made both a wise and righteous choice when we examine our lives by the light of Scripture.  We read, “whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise” (15:31).  Sacrifices or offerings cannot be substitutes for righteousness (15:8).  Rather, God desires the prayers and worship of His people. “The Lord hears the prayers of the righteous” (15:29b).
            Proverbs 14:3 commands us to guard our speech.  “A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride, but the lips of the wise protect them.”  A righteous choice of words originates in the heart more than the mouth.  Measuring and controlling our speech keeps us from the shame of uttering words spoken in sin, anger or resentment.  Indeed, we read, “the heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil” (15:28).  The Bible issues a warning to those who build upon a foundation of pride or conceit.  “The Lord tears down the house of the proud” (15:25a).
            To live righteously today, spend time in the Bible, pray and seek the Lord’s will and ways.  Put on the full armor of God named in Ephesians 6.  Surrender your day to the Lord and His leadership.  Guard your heart and your speech.  Remember the great admonition of Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  The wisest decision we can make is to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ and experience His life-changing and transforming power that leads to a new birth and life for us.  Have a great Thursday!  Remember you can worship any time at YouTube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.