But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matt. 6:33) NIV
Will You Define Me Please?
Do you live a righteous life? Whose righteousness are you wearing today? In what form or fashion did this righteousness come to be? Is it constructed with the raise you just earned, the compliment you got from your friend, how great of a mom or volunteer you are, or how much money is in your portfolio?
How often do we wake up and feel like we must hammer out our own breastplate of righteousness because yesterday’s wins never seem to stick around long enough to count for another day? Not to mention the times when a “win” for our own self-righteousness shatters by a “loss” in the form of a criticism, unruly hair day, or failings that came out of our own missteps. These losses tend to tumble us down a few notches and we need more wins to keep us afloat.
I played the earnings game for a good chunk of my life. The thoughts of myself knitted tightly to how others thought of me. I considered myself good if others thought of me as good. If they were disappointed in me and I was “bad,” then I was bad. I tried so hard to earn my worldview of myself through the lens of other people and in turn, became susceptible to their whims and own insecurities. I rode the tides of their emotions based on their good or bad moods by latching onto their beliefs and begging for them to see me. The definition of myself ended differently each day and started over each morning. The boulder rolled up the hill again as soon as I opened my eyes.
I Envy the Boulders
I always envied people who didn’t have to play this righteousness game. They knew exactly who they were and what anyone said, did, or thought meant little to them. They WERE the boulder, and it stood exactly where they planted it. How did they do that? It turns out they knew something that I had yet to learn.
Finding Christ and wearing His righteousness for the first time freed me in more ways than I could ever count. Discovering it was His righteousness I needed to wear bowled me over with relief! I can live a righteous life! We need to stop listening to the enemy who tries to dismantle the armor of God. It was the first time that I became a boulder myself.
My whole life I had piecemealed my own righteousness from bits of thumbs-up I had earned at work, tagged onto random comments from strangers, taped with compliments from my friends, and sewn together with a kind word from a neighbor. I heaved this jumbled mess over my head and stuck my arms through the makeshift holes and tried to wear my breastplate wherever I went. It was a disaster. Pieces fell off, and I walked around awkwardly and uncomfortably in my own skin. I looked like a kid who made his Halloween costume out of a large box covered in tinfoil. No matter what I did or how hard I tried, I could never make my righteousness fit.
The Unbreakable Dress
When I first put on Jesus’ righteousness, it slipped on like a silk dress that form fitted to my soul. It is light weight with the strength of a thousand Kevlar vests that will extinguish anything that the enemy will throw. It protects our purified hearts through Jesus’ sacrifice and allows ours to beat with His because our enemy can no longer bend our ear. We are fully and completely listening to the voice of our Savior, and His truths wash us with living water. No storm can form against us.
Jesus said that our earnings are like rags. We think all our accomplishments, awards, trophies, volunteer hours, accolades, and church attendances will add up in the end but truthfully, we are just piling up our rags one on top of the other in the hopes that they will count for something. Is this what you want to offer up to your King and hang your hopes on for salvation? I sure don’t. Once I thought this was enough. Now I know He is enough.
The righteousness of Jesus Christ never falters, breaks down, needs renewal, fails when tested, or fits like a costume. It will never pull you down or hold you back. Whichever righteousness we choose to put on when we wake up in the morning will determine our whole outlook for the day. It is not something He will ever force us to wear. It’s a choice. My tinfoil box is in the recycle bin with the rest of my “awards.” Whose righteousness will you choose to wear today?
His or yours?
So very true! I have been guilty of the same journey of trying to be good enough. He has given us all that we need. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Tom!
Yes, yes, yes! HE is enough! Everything else is filthy rags.
Amen!!!!
“When I first put on Jesus’ righteousness, it slipped on like a silk dress that form fitted to my soul. It is light weight with the strength of a thousand Kevlar vests that will extinguish anything that the enemy will throw. “. Beautiful imagery!
Thank you!!
“I tried so hard to earn my worldview of myself through the lens of other people and in turn became susceptible to their whims and own insecurities.”
This really resonated with me. I realized a while ago that when I share a story or perform an action and look for people’s reactions, I really have no solid way to infer approval, because who knows if they’re tired or distracted or not really themselves in that moment. So why look to them for approval anyway?
Look to God.
Amen, Brandon. Living like this is so exhausting. I wasted so many years carrying everyone else’s idea of me and finally realized everyone else is so busy with their own worlds that defining me was not on their to-do list. Looking for God’s approval is so freeing. He created us so it should be natural that we seek His approval, not mans. Thank you for this wonderful comment.
That was so good Crista, as it’s hard to look inside and admit that stuff! Bravo!
Thank you so much!!