but she who hates virtue is covered with shame.
The timid become destitute,
but the aggressive gain riches.” NRSV
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” Matthew 5:6 NRSV
It’s amazing to me how aggressive we can be when it comes to earthly (temporary) things and how laid-back (May I say “lazy?”) we are when it comes to spiritual things.
When my husband and I first got married, twenty-five years ago, we considered going to a Catholic church in town. My husband’s family is Catholic; mine is evangelical. I didn’t mind switching because I had saved Catholic friends who were serious Christians and I knew that it was possible to serve the Lord there as well as in the church I was already attending. The reason we made a decision not to go to that particular Catholic church wasn’t the preaching or the music or even necessarily the doctrine. What distressed us the most was that the attenders didn’t carry (or read) their Bibles. They relied on their priest to tell them what scripture said and then just disappeared into the night, so to speak, without worrying about whether or not they should actually apply what they heard. (Fortunately, several years later a revival took place in that parish and it became on fire for the Lord.)
Lately, as we have visited several evangelical churches, we have, unfortunately, witnessed much the same thing. Many attenders don’t carry their Bibles to church nor check to see whether or not what the pastor is saying actually lines up with scripture. In fact, I’ve talked to several people professing to be Christians who simply aren’t concerned with their lives—with how they behave or the addictive, sinful behaviors they have—insisting that God will change them when He’s good and ready (or words to that effect).
We have become passive, at least where it pertains to our spiritual growth. What’s interesting is that “passive” is the antonym of “aggressive.”
“The aggressive gain riches.”
“Those who hunger and thirst for righteous . . . will be filled.”
I think that we focus on what’s important to us. I think that if we want something badly enough, we will make sure that we get it. I mean, isn’t that what discount shopping—which has taken America by storm—all about? Getting what we want? Isn’t that one of the reasons our country’s in such a financial mess, because we got what we wanted without considering the cost (buying on credit)?
We need to focus on what we need spiritually as believers. And there must be a reason why the Lord Jesus taught about hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Think about being really hungry or really thirsty. Those desires are insatiable; you can’t think about anything else until you get something to eat or water to drink. Your body demands it.
Do we hunger and thirst for being righteous? Is that what we long for, what we think about, what we pray for and wish for? Or are we so absorbed with getting the very-temporary things of the life around us that we don’t even have the time or energy to think about pleasing God? For that’s what righteousness is . . . behavior, thoughts, and choices that please Him! Do we surround ourselves with reading books and listening to teaching tapes that talk about His Holy Word or are we too busy with soap operas and reality shows and fulfilling the lusts of our flesh to even bother?
Virtue is righteousness. A woman who hates virtue will be shamed, but a believer who is aggressive about getting righteousness (the true riches in life) will receive them . . . and more. If we long for the Lord with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, we will receive that blessed relationship with Him.
© 2008 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. International copyright reserved. This study may be copied for nonprofit and/or church purposes only without permission when copied in its entirety (including this notice).
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