A Little More About that Word – Righteousness

There are so many “Bible words” that are either worn out by overuse or damaged by underuse that very few people understand what these words mean. It doesn’t matter whether you are Christian or other than Christian, chances are good that, in the words of Inigo Montoya, “I do not think it means what you think it means.”

A few days ago, I posted on Facebook about the words “Righteousness” and “Unrighteousness.” These are words that we hardly use unless we are reading the Bible or talking exclusively to people at church. And it’s a real shame, because most people don’t really understand these words at all. I think a better understanding of these words might help us to better live as people who claim to follow Moses, The prophets, and Jesus – all who taught us to live live “Righteously.”

I think we hear words like that and we tend to think in terms of moral superiority. We think of people who have made decisions to do certain things that we think of as proper. We think of people who have never had sex out of wedlock. Or maybe those people who always give ten percent of their income away. We might think of Grandma reading her Bible while she knits socks for the homeless. And to be sure, some of these elements are indeed included under the banner of “Righteousness.”

But within the ancient world that gave rise to the word and to the Book that it comes from, Righteousness is most often about living in community. Righteousness is about being a good neighbor and a good citizen. The person who is reading their Bible and dressed up to go to church but never shovels their sidewalk is an unrighteous person. They are not being a good neighbor, nor or they contributing to the health of their community.

Christians in a social media world desperately need to hear this. We live in a deeply divided time. There are people and corporations out there who stand to gain from the animosity that fills our timelines. And these groups regularly create bad information. Some examples of recent fake news headlines are that the First Lady banned white house staff from having a flu shot, that Pope Francis is involved in Child Trafficking, that The Clintons are Cannibals, and that George Soros was an SS Agent.

None of these are strictly impossible, like for instance Melania Trump was born on the moon to alien parents (but I wouldn’t be surprised at this point to see that one). But we must admit they are all pretty far fetched. A quick Google search will usually tell us what is true. Like for instance the minimum age to join the SS was 17 and George Soros was 14 when the war ended, oh so that can’t be true. Oh, and look, that picture is of Oskar Groening, the Accountant of Auschwitz! See how easy that was?

This sort of misinformation first feeds on and then contributes to the animosity and outrage that is poisoning our culture. I know we all have our deeply held political opinions, and thankfully we can have discussions about what is best for our nation and our civilization as we move forward together. But misinformation like this is not helpful to anyone, unless your goal is to keep Americans fighting with each other.

The people of God have been told that our task is to work for the peace and welfare of the nations in which we live. Those who work toward these two things will be called righteous.

Someone is going to say to me, “Oh, so Christians shouldn’t talk about Politics?” Those who are more strongly committed to one side or the other might say, “Oh, so we are just supposed to let the liberal elite destroy our way of life?” Or they might say, “So we are just supposed to baptize the immorality of the current administration?”

I would like to remind you that I didn’t say any of those things. I said we are supposed to work for the peace and welfare of the places we are called to live out our lives. For many of us that might mean engaging in the political system. I do not think it means disobeying the ten commandments that call us not to bear false witness against our neighbor. Spreading fake news is the same thing as lying.

If you think something untrue is funny then say so. There is a place for satire. It is increasingly my favorite type of thing to read. But satire that poses as real news is a lie, and it harms the community we are called to love. And to be a part of spreading lies is unrighteous behavior.

Even more painful are those profiles that share a “news article” about Bill and Hillary Clinton literally eating babies. And then follow that up with a post about glorifying Jesus. This is not only unrighteous, it is a terrible witness to our friends and families who may just be other than Christian and they are watching the way you communicate.

Jesus called us to be a light in the darkness. This means we are called to live “righteous lives” before others. I deeply believe in the power of the cross and the resurrection to transform lives. I want Jesus to be glorified in the world way more than I care who wins the next election. Not only that, I believe that the more attractive Jesus is to our friends, neighbors and communities, the more likely our nation is to become a better place.

I know there are struggles than can be solved in the political world. I know there are tough issues that a Christian voice can weigh in on. I know that many of us are called to weigh in on those issues. But as we do, let’s do it in a righteous way. Let’s not be people who give our neighbors reasons to disdain the things that we say. If in one breath we say that President Trump is a Russian Agent or that he is the only hope that our culture has, and in the next we say that Jesus is the hope that have, frankly our voices lose their credibility, and our unrighteousness stinks to our neighbors.

Righteousness may mean speaking the truth. But it never means spreading lies and hatred. We are called to be righteous.

I don’t know if this will upset you or thrill you to read. It probably depends on your own timeline. But there is something even more important for all of us to remember and to model. Repentance is the door to new life and new hope. Yea, I know, there’s another big word that may need a post of its own. But it just means second guessing the way we have done things.

Look at your timeline. Have you been doing this? That’s ok. but let me ask you a question. Do you really want to blow your friends and family away with the gospel? Post an apology and ask for forgiveness. This is the greatest thing we have to offer. It’s not our opinions. It’s not even raising our voices in a good and righteous way. The greatest thing we have to offer is a demonstration of the gospel at work in our own lives.

None of us is completely righteous. Several years ago I called someone a “moron” on social media. This was unrighteous. I haven’t lately because I second guessed myself. I am sure we have all been guilty. That is not the question. The question is this: Do you want to grow more righteous? The first step is to second guess ourselves. And the second is to receive the grace Jesus and our neighbors can offer us.

Christians demonstrating the gospel will change our world way more than all the fake news, anger, and outrage we can possibly stir up. Personally I would like to see the world changed. And I believe the church modeling the gospel is the greatest hope we have.

What about you?