Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor.
- Proverbs 21:21
Every day at my house, my family turns into a search party. Maybe we’re after a water bottle. Could be a sock that’s missing its mate. Perhaps a book or a jacket or a cell phone. Whatever the case, all five of us find ourselves ransacking the house trying to track down what’s lost. In a family of five, something is always missing—and it’s up to us to find it.
The proverb above describes a different sort of pursuit—not of a tangible item, but of virtues. In Solomon’s day, as in ours, righteousness and kindness were hard to come by. Our world is not a place where justice or mercy are naturally found; especially when you’re vulnerable or marginalized, expectations are that things are going to get worse for you, not better. As a result, the cynical person learns to live by the law of the jungle instead of the law of love, looking out solely for themselves and doing whatever is necessary to get ahead.
But Scripture compels believers to follow the way of the Lord, pursuing what is good even when the benefits of doing so are not readily apparent. When the cultural expectation is vengeance, Jesus commands us to forgive. When the flesh compels you to hurt someone, the Spirit calls you to heal them. When the world tells you to take what’s yours, the cross points you to sacrifice.
Christian virtues can be hard to find these days. But when you pursue them, then in Christ you will find the kind of life and honor the world could never hope to offer.
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