Day 22: Rice and Righteousness
During this week, one of the Heartwork challenges was to set aside a couple of meals at which you eat only beans and rice, and to remember the people around the world who have that meal as their only option, once per day, every day. Personally, I don't care much for beans, and I don't know how to prepare them. So I decided that for lunches all week I would eat rice. The day I started was Tuesday, and God added something to the commitment that I wasn't expecting. He didn't want me to add anything to it. So I put the salt and pepper back in the cabinet, and ate my rice plain.
Now that the week is concluded, we are supposed to write down what we learned. One of the first things that I noticed was that it takes a lot of rice to actually satisfy my hunger, and that is after eating a full meal of breakfast just hours earlier. There were times when I finished my meal and I was still hungry. So what would I do if that unsatisfying portion of rice was the only food I got all day? I would be hungry all the time, even when I had just finished eating.
But now is the first time it has occured to me that that is exactly what many people live with every day. Real people. So I am going to pray for them.
Heavenly Father, you told us through your Son to pray for our daily bread. There are many people in this world who need food, but they don't get it. There are many more who need it, but don't get enough. Father, please incline my heart and the hears of your people who have plenty to share with those people who have nothing. Give us each our orders, tell us what to do. There are so many options out there as to who to donate to, volunteer with, or pray for, that sometimes it overwhelms me into inaction. You told us that religion that you consider pure and faultless is one that cares for the orphan, the widow, and the stranger. You told us that anything we do out of compassion for those in need, we do for you. So, God, make us, make me, pure and faultless. Give us the courage to fully take hold of the life you have for those who follow you. Help us recognize the work of the Enemy, and help us realize what authority and power we have over him. And above all, Father, use your people to bring glory to yourself. In Jesus' name, amen.
Speaking of religion, the other thing that I have been contemplating lately is righteousness. I have been going through Psalms, which constantly compares the righteous with the wicked. But another common character is the fool. This morning, I read a verse that says, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" and my Bible gave me a footnote. The footnote basically says that the Hebrew words for "fool" in the Psalms denote one who is morally deficient. So basically, someone who is wicked.
That got me thinking about another verse, this one in the New Testament. In it, Jesus says that anyone who says to his brother, "You fool!" Is in danger of the fire of hell. So if we are calling someone morally deficient, does that mean that this is a case of self-righteousness? If so, then it is no wonder that the punishment is so severe, because self-righteousness is something that Jesus abhored.
So what is real righteousness? Psalm 15 summarizes it pretty well:
"LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?
He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,
who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,
who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken."
I couldn't have said it better myself, although I will add that it is easier said than done.
Another thing about righteousness goes along with what I learned and blogged about in week 2. God sees us as righteous. That is why David can say over and over again phrases like "Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High." (Psalm 7:8) I don't know about you, but one month ago, I would not be willing to ask God to judge me according to my righteousness, because I know that I fall short. But now that I know how God sees me, the prayers of the Psalms make a lot more sense, and I feel like I can even make them my own.
So to conclude week 3 of Heartwork, with only one week left, I leave you to think about Rice and Righteousness.
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