It
pays to live a righteous life
Righteousness
has been defined as a holy and upright living in accordance with God’s
standard. Its root word means straightness, and it is a virtue which every man
needs to imbibe in order to be at peace with God. In this write-up, our guest
writer, SIR (ENGR.) EMMANUEL N. KANU
(JP) elucidates on the importance of living a righteous life.
At the creation of the universe and man, God wanted
man to live an upright and righteous life, and to also obey his commandments.
By so doing, God will bless man and increase his number of years on earth.
The first man, Adam, lived for 930 years, his son Seith lived for 912 years, his son Enosh lived for 905 years. Caniam, son of Enosh, lived for 910 years, Mahalaled, the son of Enosh, lived for 895 years. Jared, the son of Mahalaled, lived for 962 years. Enoch, the son of Jared, lived for 365 years, and walked in the path of righteousness.
Methuselah, the son of Enoch, lived for 969 years – becoming the oldest man ever lived on earth. Lamech, the son of Methuselah, lived for 777 years and was the father of Noah. Noah lived for 500 years and had three children - Shem, Ham and Japhet (Genesis 5:1-32). He walked in the way of the Lord.
Enoch was a preacher of righteousness who denounced the sins of unrighteous life style of his generation. Enoch’s life and message pleased God, to the extent that God honored him by taking him away from the earth to be in His presence forever without experiencing death (Heb 11:5). We can see from the above Scripture that life expectancy for man was very high until sin started multiplying itself on earth. This made God to become annoyed with man. Hence, God reduced the life expectancy of man to 120 years: “And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also, is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3).
The book of Proverbs encourages us to shun unrighteous living, “My son If sinners entice thee consent thou not” (Proverb 1:10). Early in life, young people usually face enticements of sin, and peer pressure will always induce them to join the majority and thereby enjoy sinful pleasures. In order to avoid this, young people can resist such temptations to turn from God and His ways by developing a close relationship with Him as their Lord by a willingness to stand alone. If need be, they can achieve this through their commitment to God’s righteous ways (Proverb 1:15-16) and by knowing that the way of compromise and sinful pleasure leads to heartache, distress, calamity and destruction (Proverb 1:27, Matthew 4:1-11)
Calamity
The book of Proverbs emphasizes that God has absolute standards of right and wrong, and to disregard them will bring tragic results in our lives. The greatest truth we can learn in our youth is that we will indeed reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7-9). The eventual price we pay for sin is anguish, suffering and even disaster, “When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you” (Proverb 1:27).
It is only by putting God’s word into our minds that we can learn to live wisely and righteously in our relationship with Him: “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels” (Proverbs 1:5). We can become victorious over sin with God’s commandments in our hearts (Psalms 119:11) and with Christ’s words abiding within us (John 15:17, James 1:12). The Scriptures encourage us to walk in the way of good men and path of the righteous (Proverb 2:20).
The blessings of gaining wisdom include:
i. Learning to fear the Lord and thereby being guarded from evil along life’s path (Proverbs 2:5-8)
ii. Having the ability to discern good from evil and thereby avoiding the tragedies of sin (Proverbs 2:21).
iii. Desiring to avoid evil people and associating with them but associate with good and righteous ones (Proverbs 2:12-15).
iv. Abstaining from sexual immorality (Proverbs 2:16-19) and finally gaining the promised blessing of God (Proverbs 2:21).
Long life and peace of mind
Generally speaking, obeying God and living by his holy principles will result in better health, a longer life, happier and more prosperous life (Proverbs 3:16). However, this general principle must not to be taken as an absolute guarantee to which there are no exceptions. Sometimes, the righteous are afflicted (Job 1-2) and do not live long years (Acts 7:58-60). Conversely, it is the wicked who are healthy and prosperous (Ps 73:3-12) though their final judgment is sure destruction: “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed, with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image” (Psalm 73:17-20, Jas 5:14).
Trust in the Lord
Trusting in the Lord with all our heart, is fundamental to our relationship with God, and it is based on His promise that He is trust worthy (Proverb3-5). As God’s children, we can be assured that our heavenly father loves us and will faithfully care for us: “Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).
In all our ways, acknowledge Him
In all our plans, decision and activities, we should acknowledge God as our Lord: “In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6). In every day of our lives, we must live in a close and trusting relationship with God, always looking to him for direction: “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6). When we do this, God promises to direct our paths. He will lead us to His goal for our lives, remove all obstacles and enable us to make the right choices (Proverbs 11:5, Isaiah 45:13).
Honor the Lord with your substance
The Israelites brought the first portion of their harvest to the Lord to acknowledge that He was the owner of the land (Leviticus 23:10, 25:23, Num18:12-13, Proverbs 3:9).We also should give God first fruits of our income so that we may honor Him as the Lord of our lives and possessions. It is only then that God will then open the way to pour out His blessings upon us (Malachi 3:10).
Riches and honor
We will discover that most times, earthly riches and honor do not always come to us even though we are living according to God’s ways (Proverbs 3:16), but we can be sure that we will receive everlasting riches and honor from God as our future inheritance: “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust, the true riches?” (Luke 16:11, Ephesians1:18, 3:8)
Walk safely in the way of life
Wisdom gives us security because it keeps us walking safely in God’s good acceptable and perfect will (Romans 12: 2). God will not allow those who trust in him to be caught or destroyed by the traps set by the enemy (Proverbs 4:25-26). From all this write-ups and biblical quotations, mostly from the Book of Wisdom (Proverb), we can see that those who fear the Lord and live righteous life have longer life spans, less travails in the race of life and are assured of eternal life.
Let us, as Christians, rise to this challenge so that at the end of life, we will be proud to ask, like St. Paul did: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my race, I have kept my faith. Hence forth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the good Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing’’ (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
The first man, Adam, lived for 930 years, his son Seith lived for 912 years, his son Enosh lived for 905 years. Caniam, son of Enosh, lived for 910 years, Mahalaled, the son of Enosh, lived for 895 years. Jared, the son of Mahalaled, lived for 962 years. Enoch, the son of Jared, lived for 365 years, and walked in the path of righteousness.
Methuselah, the son of Enoch, lived for 969 years – becoming the oldest man ever lived on earth. Lamech, the son of Methuselah, lived for 777 years and was the father of Noah. Noah lived for 500 years and had three children - Shem, Ham and Japhet (Genesis 5:1-32). He walked in the way of the Lord.
Enoch was a preacher of righteousness who denounced the sins of unrighteous life style of his generation. Enoch’s life and message pleased God, to the extent that God honored him by taking him away from the earth to be in His presence forever without experiencing death (Heb 11:5). We can see from the above Scripture that life expectancy for man was very high until sin started multiplying itself on earth. This made God to become annoyed with man. Hence, God reduced the life expectancy of man to 120 years: “And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also, is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3).
The book of Proverbs encourages us to shun unrighteous living, “My son If sinners entice thee consent thou not” (Proverb 1:10). Early in life, young people usually face enticements of sin, and peer pressure will always induce them to join the majority and thereby enjoy sinful pleasures. In order to avoid this, young people can resist such temptations to turn from God and His ways by developing a close relationship with Him as their Lord by a willingness to stand alone. If need be, they can achieve this through their commitment to God’s righteous ways (Proverb 1:15-16) and by knowing that the way of compromise and sinful pleasure leads to heartache, distress, calamity and destruction (Proverb 1:27, Matthew 4:1-11)
Calamity
The book of Proverbs emphasizes that God has absolute standards of right and wrong, and to disregard them will bring tragic results in our lives. The greatest truth we can learn in our youth is that we will indeed reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7-9). The eventual price we pay for sin is anguish, suffering and even disaster, “When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you” (Proverb 1:27).
It is only by putting God’s word into our minds that we can learn to live wisely and righteously in our relationship with Him: “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels” (Proverbs 1:5). We can become victorious over sin with God’s commandments in our hearts (Psalms 119:11) and with Christ’s words abiding within us (John 15:17, James 1:12). The Scriptures encourage us to walk in the way of good men and path of the righteous (Proverb 2:20).
The blessings of gaining wisdom include:
i. Learning to fear the Lord and thereby being guarded from evil along life’s path (Proverbs 2:5-8)
ii. Having the ability to discern good from evil and thereby avoiding the tragedies of sin (Proverbs 2:21).
iii. Desiring to avoid evil people and associating with them but associate with good and righteous ones (Proverbs 2:12-15).
iv. Abstaining from sexual immorality (Proverbs 2:16-19) and finally gaining the promised blessing of God (Proverbs 2:21).
Long life and peace of mind
Generally speaking, obeying God and living by his holy principles will result in better health, a longer life, happier and more prosperous life (Proverbs 3:16). However, this general principle must not to be taken as an absolute guarantee to which there are no exceptions. Sometimes, the righteous are afflicted (Job 1-2) and do not live long years (Acts 7:58-60). Conversely, it is the wicked who are healthy and prosperous (Ps 73:3-12) though their final judgment is sure destruction: “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed, with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image” (Psalm 73:17-20, Jas 5:14).
Trust in the Lord
Trusting in the Lord with all our heart, is fundamental to our relationship with God, and it is based on His promise that He is trust worthy (Proverb3-5). As God’s children, we can be assured that our heavenly father loves us and will faithfully care for us: “Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).
In all our ways, acknowledge Him
In all our plans, decision and activities, we should acknowledge God as our Lord: “In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6). In every day of our lives, we must live in a close and trusting relationship with God, always looking to him for direction: “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6). When we do this, God promises to direct our paths. He will lead us to His goal for our lives, remove all obstacles and enable us to make the right choices (Proverbs 11:5, Isaiah 45:13).
Honor the Lord with your substance
The Israelites brought the first portion of their harvest to the Lord to acknowledge that He was the owner of the land (Leviticus 23:10, 25:23, Num18:12-13, Proverbs 3:9).We also should give God first fruits of our income so that we may honor Him as the Lord of our lives and possessions. It is only then that God will then open the way to pour out His blessings upon us (Malachi 3:10).
Riches and honor
We will discover that most times, earthly riches and honor do not always come to us even though we are living according to God’s ways (Proverbs 3:16), but we can be sure that we will receive everlasting riches and honor from God as our future inheritance: “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust, the true riches?” (Luke 16:11, Ephesians1:18, 3:8)
Walk safely in the way of life
Wisdom gives us security because it keeps us walking safely in God’s good acceptable and perfect will (Romans 12: 2). God will not allow those who trust in him to be caught or destroyed by the traps set by the enemy (Proverbs 4:25-26). From all this write-ups and biblical quotations, mostly from the Book of Wisdom (Proverb), we can see that those who fear the Lord and live righteous life have longer life spans, less travails in the race of life and are assured of eternal life.
Let us, as Christians, rise to this challenge so that at the end of life, we will be proud to ask, like St. Paul did: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my race, I have kept my faith. Hence forth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the good Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing’’ (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
Engr.
Emma Kanu (JP) is a retired EEDC Principal Engineer. He hails from Ndikelionwu,
Orumba North, and resides in Enugu. He can be contacted through his telephone
number: 08037441157.
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