Perfect TrustНамуна

Perfectly Righteous 

According to the Cambridge dictionary, righteousness is defined as, “Behaving in a morally correct way.” Simply stated, it is doing what is right based on an absolute moral standard. Which God always does.

But in today’s culture, the big question is what is “right"? Truth is no longer an absolute standard as the moral relativity of our day means that the idea of right and wrong is left up to the individual to decide. You hear things like “Your truth is your truth and my truth is my truth.” In fact, to believe in truth as an absolute standard is seen by many as intolerant and bigoted. 

So the very notion of truth, of right and wrong, is subject to what the individual believes, not a moral standard.

The problem with such a view is that it is morally bankrupt. First, to say that there is no absolute truth is to make an absolute statement. So such a view is self-denying to begin with. Second, if you truly believe that there is no moral absolute, then there is no ground of moral authority to say, “That is wrong!” If truth is left up to the individual, then anything can be judged to be right or wrong in the moment, which makes the idea of you telling me something is wrong impossible.

The result is we have a culture that is morally compromised where “truth" is both elusive and confusing. Where attacking others based on personal beliefs and values is justified because it’s based on “my truth.” And where lying and misleading others to gain a personal outcome is justified.

The prophet Isaiah spoke to a culture much like ours today. In Isaiah 59:9-11;14-15 he says this:

So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead. We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away. So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

Our world is swallowed up in lies, untruths, immoral behavior, and untrustworthy relationships as the moral center of gravity erodes. The result is the willingness to compromise the truth – or what is right – for personal advantage regardless of the impact on others. And my guess is you have been the victim of unrighteous behavior at some point. Which erodes your trust in others – and makes you question even subconsciously whether you can truly trust God.

Let me reassure you that this moral equivocating is not so with God. He is TRUTH. Recall the words of Jesus in John 14:6, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ Jesus didn’t claim to be "a" truth. Or even just to "speak" the truth. He made it clear that He is THE truth. 

 In Him you find the absolute standard of morality. A standard that never varies. Firm, fixed, and unequivocating. As THE truth, it is literally impossible for Him to do anything but what is right. He is perfectly righteous, and He will always do what is right by you and for you, because He can do no other.

You can trust God fully because God is THE truth and absolutely righteous, He will not change. As Numbers 23:19 states, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”

Because God is wholly and perfectly righteous, you can trust Him to never equivocate on what He says. It is firm, fixed for eternity, grounded in His very character. So no matter what you have experienced, whatever wrong you have suffered because of being mislead or lied to by others, you can be assured that God will only ever do what is right by you. That’s something you can perfectly trust.

RESPOND: Spend time in prayer, thanking God that He is not like a human who lies or fails to fulfill His promises. Praise Him that He is fully trustworthy because He never changes.