Lifestyles of the Righteous and FavoredPrøve

A Righteous Life

What do the words righteous and rich have in common?

On the surface, very little besides the fact they both start with ri, but as we dig into scripture we come across a passage in the book of Psalms that gives us some powerful insight into the life of the righteous. Let’s take a look.

Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.6 For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.7 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. 9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. 10 The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish (Psalm 112 ESV)!

This poetic passage of scripture gives us several key characteristics of a person whose life is marked by righteousness. The word righteousness means, “to be upright, in right standing with God and in the eyes of God.” These verses reveal how righteousness opens the door for blessings, legacy, peace of heart, victory in adversity, and riches.

This is where the world gets it wrong, and as children of God we need to get it right. WE should understand that our lifestyle of riches should first be stamped or marked by our righteousness. Riches without righteousness will lead to sinful behavior because there will be an aim to please self rather than God. We’ve all seen that happen to people we know.

Now take a closer look at verse three, which says, “Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.”

Here is where we see these words wonderfully woven together in the form of both provision and a promise. However, righteousness remains the greater reward, not riches. God wants us to know that the two can exist together, but they must remain in their proper order, an order He ordained where He will remain the Lord of our hearts.

So let us aim for the greater reward from God that will spill over into our time here on Earth.

Pause and Ponder: Take a look at Psalm 112 and ask God How He would like to deepen your walk with Him.