The Path of the Righteous

One of the passages that is coming to mind as I start to type the title of this post is found in 1 John and it says “the commands of the Lord are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3) and there is another one in Psalm 119 that says “your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them” (Psalm 119:129). Indeed, there are many passages in the bible that talk about the goodness, the sweetness, the richness and the delight that is found in the word of the Lord. Much of the bible encourages us to bind the word of God in our heart, to tie his commandments to our neck (Proverbs 6:21) because there is much life in those. Doing the contrary, that is not having the word of God in our hearts or not living in accordance to it only leads to our destruction. One of the many benefits of being known by God and calling Him Father is that He did not just save us from our sins but He also established rules, laying out His commands so that we would know what is the way to live for Him and enjoy the life He has purchased for us. God did not just leave us hanging in this world to figure it out on our own, He gave us His commands, His precepts, His instructions and the like. As I continue in my bible meditation this week, a recurring theme was the path of the righteous. This path is one that all believers, those that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, those that declare to be followers of Christ must be on.

One of the miracles of salvation is the new life we get in Christ Jesus. Indeed, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This new life starts with the Holy Spirit coming to dwell in us the moment we believe in the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross on our behalf. This indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us, Paul will tell us only happens when we believe in salvation by grace through faith and not salvation by works. This is precisely an issue Paul sought to clarify among Galatians Christians in the early church so that no one would be confused about the gospel and their salvation. Therefore, as new creatures in Christ, our priorities begin to change, the things we used to enjoy, we enjoy them no more; we have a new found fire, a new found joy. All these changes happen for many of us at conversion and last a few months and then we find ourselves not having the same drive, the same joy, the same fire. What happened? Simply put, we became accustomed to the fruits of the new life and we did not understand the new lifestyle had to be maintained. In Christ, we were given new taste buds, new desires, new affections and we failed to realize that these new desires, taste buds and all had to be cultivated and protected otherwise, they too would outgrow us. Indeed, the goal of the Holy Spirit in us is to convict us of our sins but also to point us to Christ and one way He does that is by ensuring our affections for Christ are still effective. However, if we do not take heed of the Holy Spirit’s promptings, if we do not take the time to discipline our minds and bodies to enjoy our new habits we would find that we are quickly reverting back to our old habits, the ones that Christ saved us from. My point is, we ought to walk the path of righteousness as new creatures in Christ Jesus otherwise we will soon be likened to dogs that return to their vomit. What exactly is the path of righteousness or the path of the righteous? It is the path of obedience, the path of wisdom, the path of insight and understanding; the path of truth, in a nutshell, the path that honours the Lord.

Wisdom, insight, understanding, knowledge are all qualities that are of God. The commandments that He lays out for us to obey are packed with wisdom, insight, knowledge, and understanding. I firmly believe this was God’s way of ensuring we reflect Him because these are His qualities. The more we have wisdom, the more we act in righteousness and apply sound judgement around us, the more we reflect the God of wisdom. Similarly, the more we are knowledgeable and employ it when faced with a problem, the more we reflect the power of God. Indeed, it pleased God to provide us with His word where His instructions to gain wisdom, knowledge, understanding and insight are revealed. One such instructions is found in the book of Proverbs where it says “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching…for the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil woman” (Proverbs 6:20-24). In this instruction, we are told that God’s commandment is a lamp and a teaching light. In other words, they give you direction and guidance; they also give you insight, for example, the snares of the evil or adulterous woman, you are able to escape from afar. Her crooked ad devious schemes you are able to avoid simply by way of obedience, by heeding the commandment of the Lord in your heart. Another instruction given in proverbs is to not be a sluggard – one who is lazy, often sleeping when it is time to work (Proverbs 6:6-11). We are told to go to the ant, to learn from the ant who without a leader knows to gather food in harvest and prepare her bread in summer. In addition to giving instruction, the book of Proverbs also does a lot of contrasts, often juxtaposing two opposites words together like wise and fool. The wicked versus the wise. We are told that “the iniquities of the wicked ensnare him… he dies for lack of discipline” (Proverbs 5:22-23). This is totally the opposite of what the righteous is. The righteous love reproofs, he loves discipline. Unlike the wicked man, the righteous does not go about crooked speech. His ways reflect that of the Father: pure, life-giving, transparent, joyful, peace, growth, success. The righteous man does not sit in the company of sinners or mockers (Psalm 1), there is no deceit that is found in him, lying is not a course of action he engages in. The way of the righteous man and the way of the wicked one are two completely opposites that can never be in agreement. Just as Paul in Romans describes the difference between the mind that is set on the flesh versus the mind that is set on the spirit so it is with the wicked and the righteous (Romans 8:7). The two represent two different kingdoms that do not align: the kingdom of self (flesh) represented by the wicked and the kingdom of God represented by the righteous. As believers in Christ Jesus, we are to follow God’s commands in order to live the righteous life that God has prepared for us. This lifestyle takes commitment, it takes perseverance and it takes endurance. The path of the righteous is not a quick journey, it will require stamina, that is why knowing the word of God is crucial on this path, without it, no one can survive.

As I continue my reading in Proverbs, I see that the wise man loves the commandments of God, he keeps them near him, he knows it, he is attentive to the words of God, he enjoys them for in them he finds life, and healing (Proverbs 4:22). The path of the righteous is a journey to wisdom which is none other than a journey to knowing God and His ways. And what best way to know Him if it is not by knowing what He says in His word? Therefore, love the word of God, search for Him in His words as you search for gold or a precious jewel. He is more precious than those and He promises to meet you in your search. I pray the Lord continues to grow your hunger for Him and empower you to incline your ear to His sayings in order to live a life pleasing to Him. Amen.