Among the Righteous

DEVOTION
PROVERBS
AMONG THE RIGHTEOUS
Prov 11:6
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.
NIV
Here again I see the advantages of being upright over being unfaithful. Yet I do not think it is my uprightness which gives me righteousness. I do not know how I can be considered righteous on my own merits. I have always been of the belief that Christ is my righteousness and he alone is the source. Yes, in a sense I have to maintain a righteous lifestyle, an upright way of living. But I do not believe that outside of Christ I can be righteous. All throughout the entire Bible, I cannot find one person who was righteous outside of God. Even David who God testified was a man after his own heart was far from perfect and righteous within his own being. The one thing I do know about him and that applies to me as well, is when I do fail God, I know it and seek his forgiveness and attempt to move forward with his help to resist such failures again. I know God is my righteousness, my rock, my salvation. I have no doubt that I must make every effort to find out what pleases him and then live to the best of my ability in that manner, but I also know I am bound to fail just because I am not a perfect human being capable of an absolute perfect life. If I was I would not need Christ to have died on that cross for my sin and I cannot believe that was just for my past sin, and now I have no more. Christ did not make me perfect, but he did become my righteousness. The most upright thing I have ever done is to accept that. Why someone would choose to be trapped when they can be set free is beyond me, at least at this time in my life. I can remember being among those who are called unfaithful and I did not think I was trapped, but nevertheless I was trapped by my own evil desires. I no longer am, I have been set free and now am able to live as one of the righteous. Praise God for his salvation, Praise God for the advantage of being among the righteous.