Righteousness and Justice - Truth Treasurer

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.”(Psalm 89:14 NLT)

God has many character traits. Grace, mercy, sacrifice, love are all words that we associate with our Father in heaven. These terms can only be fully understood if contemplated in conjunction with the adjectives – righteous, just, holy, almighty etc.

God is truth. Every word that He speaks translates into manifested truth that lights up the path that leads to His presence, eternal life and both spiritual and natural harmony. It brings the order that is required for all living things to flourish.

It is up to every person to choose to walk the path that is lit up by God’s standards and fenced in by righteousness and justice. These fences are required to protect us from being led astray by traps and false promises that so easy deceive us and lead to despair and eternal separation from God. The path is not easy and therefore we need God’s guidance to lead us through the gate that leads to life – abundant life.

“But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find [walk] it.” (Mathew 7:14 NLT)

According to God’s Word we will be outnumbered if we choose to take the narrow road and face many challenges including a large crowd that is shouting from the rooftops that the broad/easy road and not the narrow path is the place to be. It is human nature to want to join the crowd when it could be to our personal benefit or relieve the pressure, but God is clear about the importance of truth and justice. So clear in fact that His son, Jesus, gave His life in our stead to satisfy the demands of justice so that we can be free.

“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice ….. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. (Exodus 23:1-6)

The challenge of traveling the narrow road and facing the crowd can seem overwhelming and the choice to do so may appear naïve in face of the opposition. What is lost though in sheer numbers is more than made up for in gaining the approval and presence of God. An everlasting presence and an everlasting approval.

“The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth” (Proverbs 12:22)

Truth in itself carry power. It defends itself, since objective truth which flows from God’s throne is underwritten by God’s righteousness, holiness and evenhanded justice. God does not have any favorites – we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

The lie or lies that pave the broad road have to be consistently maintained and continuously re-energized through human effort or spiritual deception since it does not carry the intrinsic integrity maintained by God’s hand. Neither of these sources maintain itself for an extended period of time without imploding.

“Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed.” (Proverbs 12:19)

Battles are won and lost but those who enter through the narrow gate and stay on the narrow road have already achieved victory.

Those that find themselves on the narrow road are not perfect. Many that have gone before us showed us how we can walk this road. Through humility, repentance, a pure heart and the determination to do what is right and improve.

There is a big difference between making mistakes and condoning behavior (including our own) that is unacceptable to God and also promoting it as justified in arrogance and without repentance.

Praise God for His just nature that directs us, His grace and mercy to save and sustain us and His Spirit of Truth that accompany us. May we stand tall and direct our lives in a way that is pleasing to our Father in heaven.

Do not follow the crowd.

Have a blessed week.