Righteousness
Righteousness. Oxford Languages uses the term “morally justifiable” as part of its definition of the word righteousness.
“It is in the nature of the human being to seek a justification for his actions.” ― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago. Solzhenitsyn experienced firsthand what it meant when those in power justified the imprisonment and destruction of those who would disagree. It seems to me that when you must explain your actions as “morally justifiable” those actions are rarely justifiable or moral.
One common meaning of the word righteousness is not doing anything bad; no drinking, no dancing, no smoking or card playing equals righteousness. One elderly gentleman tried to demonstrate to me that he was a righteous person by saying, “I’ve never robbed or killed anyone.” Is that what righteousness means? Never convicted of a crime?
The word righteousness appears 261 times in the Bible. “Never convicted of a crime” does not seem to be how that word is used in any of those passages.
Having a deep conversation with a faithful friend the other day. He is reading the Beatitudes in Matthew. We sat with MT 5:10, “Blessed are they who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake. For theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.”
So, what does “righteousness” mean? The Greek word in the original text is “dikaioosune.” (English transliteration). That word is derived from “dikahyos” which means ‘equitable’ (in character).
Equitable is much more than merely never broke the law, even more than simply equal. A cartoon helped me understand the difference. Two children are trying to watch the baseball game from outside the wood fence. One child is tall enough to see over the fence, the other child is too short. There are some boxes nearby. Equal treatment would give each child one box. The taller child doesn’t really need the box to see the game, and one box is not enough for the shorter child to see over the fence. So, equal treatment, giving each child the same, does not bring equity. Equity would be when the shorter child stands on enough boxes to be able to see the game, same as the taller one.
There are plenty of examples of faithful people being criticized, scorned, even persecuted for advocating equity by those who defend their own cruelty as morally justifiable. Standing up for the equitable treatment of others is righteousness, and it may very well subject you to pressure and persecution. Do it any way; this is the path of following Jesus.
The season of Lent begins in just over a week; a season of self-examination and brutal honesty with ourselves about what is lacking in our lives. Lent is the season for rejecting moral justification and instead committing ourselves to behaviors that seek equity for all. By this, we learn what true righteousness looks like.
My prayers for you and your congregation are that you will seek true equity and righteousness in your lives, and in doing so, find the kingdom of the heavens.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth – Isaiah 11:3b-4
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