Have you met an emotionally healthy person who started out wanting to mess up on their job, in their family relationships, or with God? I’ve met plenty who have messed up big time, but none who started with a desire to do it. Consider a person who unintentionally muddles things up with one who breaks the rules and, without remorse, just blows it off? When our children display childish irresponsibility, as parents, we lovingly use that moment as a healthy teaching opportunity. But when they carelessly, proudly, or defiantly disobey or abuse others, a different form of love must be shown. It is all about the attitude, isn’t it?
Biblical righteousness is very comparable to one’s desire to do what is right in God’s eyes. The Bible tells us, I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules (Ezekiel 36:27, ESV). Paul wrote it this way, God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him (Philippians 2:13, NLT2). While the desire to live right in God’s presence on this earth is in us, that doesn’t mean we are faultless in always obeying His rules. As we grow into maturity in Christ, which is measuring up to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, we stumble from time to time. It is crucial we understand God is not angry with us when we skin our knee any more than we are angry with our children when they do so. However, our response to the failure reveals the depth of our desire to “carefully obey” God’s rules. Disobedience triggers a fog to form in between child and parent as well as between us and our relationship with God. John promised if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9, ESV). On the other hand, if we are cavalier, careless or stubborn about doing things our way, we can expect to encounter a form of loving discipline. God loves us too much to leave us in that condition.
Some might rebut saying God gave us Christ’s righteousness when we called on His name (Romans 3:22, 25). Therefore, Christ is our righteousness (1 Cor. 6:11). True, but we must read the whole Bible, not cherry-pick the verses to defend our unrighteous choices. John wrote, by this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother (1 John 3:10, ESV). The righteousness given to us in Christ was not His right behavior; it was His love-driven desire to be careful to obey His Father. If Christ’s righteousness we received is not causing us to exercise His desire to live the right life before God, something is seriously wrong with our spiritual condition or understanding. God the Father focuses on the heart’s passion to love Him as Jesus loved His Father and subsequently lived a well-pleasing life before His Father, not the symptomatic behavior. It is interesting to note Abraham, Moses and other Old Testament characters, as well as Paul and 11 disciples, who were not faultless yet were called righteous. This was because all had something deep within motivating them to swim against the current of external religion to follow God’s character, core values, and ways. I find incredible comfort knowing that God does not focus on my failures, but my heart that insists on seeking the kingdom of God. I’m confident He proudly smiles at my growing passion to do His good will. He does the same thing when He sees the heart of all genuinely righteous people, including YOU.