Season 4 - Episode 19

To listen to an audio version of this post, visit www.covenantchurch.ca/podcasts/covenant-weekly.

In my early years as a youth pastor, I took groups of students to a large arena event filled with loud music, dynamic videos, emotionally manipulative messages, and dramatic challenges about how these students should live their lives for God. Fourteen-year-olds were simultaneously berated for their struggles and told that the future of the world depended on them - that they needed to change it and save it! They had a legacy to lead.

By God’s grace, most of the kids that went to those with me aren’t too scarred by it. And the ministry that ran the events, like most huge ministries of that time, ended up being plagued by scandal and financial mismanagement before ceasing to exist. But the idea that we have to somehow do something big that will last - that we need to somehow change the world…that is a message that isn’t limited to turn-of-the-millia youth rallies. We want to really live and have a life that makes a difference. We’re going to consider some brief wisdom from scripture about that in today’s Covenant Weekly.

The biblical book of Proverbs is filled with tidbits of wisdom to guide us in how we should live. They aren’t promises - guarantees that if we do A - that B will result. They are wise sayings to guide us towards the best life.

And for those who want to find life and significance, Proverbs 21:21 says this:

Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love
    will find life, righteousness, and honour.

First, a bit of clarification. Righteousness isn’t perfection or “sinlessness.” The word righteousness corresponds to the word justice. It is about right living in relationship with both God and others. When Jesus says that all the law and the prophets hang on the commands, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ and ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ He is describing righteousness. This is fascinating given the wisdom of Psalm 21 ties righteousness with unfailing love.

What is the person in Psalm 21 seeking to find? It is life, righteousness, and honour. They want to live - really live a life worth living. They want things to be right in the world. And they want their life to have value - worth. They want it to be honoured. But they don’t get that value by pursuing value. They don’t get that life worth living by pursuing a life worth living.

It comes as a result of them pursuing righteousness and unfailing love. To be clear…they aren’t pursuing being recipients of righteousness and unfailing love. They are to pursue embodying righteousness and unfailing love. And wisdom says that as one seeks to live out righteousness and unfailing love, they will find life - real and abundant life, righteousness - a rightness in the world that they will participate in, and honour - a value and respect.

You may be able to point to times and places where this hasn’t worked out in your world - where people have lived pursuing righteousness and unfailing love and didn’t receive life, righteousness, and honour. I’ll remind you that this is wisdom, not a promise that it will always work out this way. But the inverse of wisdom writing also often holds. Not pursuing righteousness and unfailing love will almost guarantee you won’t find those things you’re truly looking for.

When I was thinking about this passage, my mind went to Peter’s advice recorded in 1 Peter 2. There he advises Christians to, “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honourable behaviour, and they will give honour to God when he judges the world.” (1 Peter 2:12)

This is a reminder that the life, righteousness, and honour that we long for may come from those around us and it may show up on this side of eternity, but even when it doesn’t come now, there is a day when it will.

So, Covenant family, let us persistently pursue righteousness - love for God and love for our neighbours - and unfailing love. And may we trust that the seeds we plant in partnership with the Spirit of God will bear fruit in its season.