Who is righteous; and who gets to decide? Are you a good person? We all want to be, and most of us probably believe we are. The important question we want to consider is this: Does our Heavenly Father recognize us to be righteous?

Being righteous is defined as acting in accord with principles of right, or of good conduct. It would follow to be righteous in God's eyes, we first have to allow him to define what is right in our lives. Wrestling with our own desires can sometimes make it hard for us to see what is right. As the Bible says; even the imagined mercies of the wicked one are cruel. (Proverbs 12:10) If we are going to be accepted as righteous in our Father's eyes, there is a sad truth we must recognize: None of us are born righteous. (Ecclesiastes 7:20 ; Romans 3:10) We all have desires for what we should not. (Genesis 6:5) Most of us have actually cultivated some desires for what is bad during our lives in this system of things. Even if we are largely upright, our inclination toward doing the wrong thing is well demonstrated for us in the Bible record of the apostle Paul. Paul was an ignorant and insolent man in his youth. (1 Timothy 1:12-13) While young Paul was ignorant and insolent, he was also religious, self righteous, and arrogant: He was a Pharisee having studied at the feet of Gamaliel. (Acts 22:1-5 ; Acts 5:34) Leaving his religion behind, Paul went on to become a humble follower of Christ, and was used to write several books of the Bible. Even in his later life of Christian maturity, Paul gave us perhaps his greatest lesson in the way we should perceive ourselves: As he exposed his own remaining inclinations toward badness. (Romans 7:18-25) Paul was not, of course, saying it was acceptable for him to give in to his sinful desires; and then rely on being forgiven through his faith in Christ. He was simply recognizing it was always a battle to do the right thing. We can know that because Paul also wrote 1 Corinthians. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) Paul there said his brothers and sisters had been practicers of those bad things. They changed! As we strive to do right, we must all recognize: Until we are made perfect under the coming Kingdom of Christ, our inclination toward badness will always be a problem for us. We may even slip from time to time. We must do our best not to sin however, as when we willfully practice sin we separate ourselves from God's protection. God knows our heart, and He will forgive us over and over for our mistakes; as long as they are truly mistakes. (John 15:22) He also knows if we are trying to use his loving kindness as an excuse for loose conduct. (Jude 4) If we are willfully practicing some sin, we are undermining our own faith. (1 Timothy 1:18-19) We need a faith that is strong to protect us alive. (Hebrews 10:38-39) We must always remember,   יהוה   is our loving father. Remembering his love for us will help us desire to obey, as we also realize he always wants what is best for us. He sent his own son to give us life; and to teach us how to benefit ourselves. (Isaiah 48:17) When YOU desire to do wrong, you must strive to remember it is against your own self you do harm. (Proverbs 19:29-20:2) If we realize and truly believe we harm ourselves when we sin, it makes it less likely we will choose to do ourselves harm by practicing sin. All of us struggle throughout our lives to decide the very same thing: Who we are. Then our decision is manifest in our actions. Let's consider an example of how easy it might be to fool ourselves as to our own righteousness, even while our actions clearly display what we truly are:

We consider a young boy 8 or 10 years old. His struggle is representative of many of us. (1 Corinthians 10:13) The boy grew up with parents who had faith in God. They demonstrated their faith by their fairness and loving kindness toward the boy; and toward others. Whether because of his parents influence, or because of what he saw in creation, the boy believed from infancy in a God who was good. (Hebrews 11:6) This boy with faith then found himself looking at a pack of gum in a small store. The clerk was not looking, and it suddenly dawned on the boy he could just take it. He knew it was wrong, but he wanted it, and so he took it. (Joshua 7:20-21) The boy then came to be in dread, for he knew God was watching. So... The boy was sure he would be punished. When something bad came upon the boy, as it often does with us all, the boy was convinced it was punishment for his crime. He decided he would not do such a thing again. Soon, however, he saw something else he wanted and took it. Again he was in dread of punishment. Finally, over the next few years, the boy realized he was far better not to steal; so he would not have to suffer the guilt of his conscience [the punishment for his bad acts in his own belief]. He quit practicing his terrible sin, and he grew up thinking it was a righteous act on his part to have stopped stealing.

When the boy was  grown  older, he went to war in service of his country. During his tour of duty he saw a part of life he never dreamed existed. Along with that tour came the realization there are persons who place no value on the life of others. It changed the young man's view of being alive; it made life more serious. Upon his return to his home, he wanted to do something with his life that could count for something. His first thought was to become a preacher [a minister]. The thought which popped in right behind was: "And what a great way to make a living." Just that quickly, the young man knew serving God as a way to earn a living could not work for him. He recognized a personal weakness in himself: That if he were paid to preach, he would no longer know if he was serving because it was right, or because of the financial gain. (Matthew 6:24) [This is not a judgment against those who accept contributions for spreading the good news of Jesus teachings. It is simply the account of this particular man recognizing a weakness in himself.]

The question that comes up in considering this example, is whether the boy [and the young man he became] was righteous in his actions. As the young man grew to be an old one, he gradually realized he maybe quit stealing as a boy because he was afraid of being justly punished for his actions; not because it was wrong to steal! As a young boy then, he likely had not been righteous in God's sight at all. He also was likely not being punished by God for his petty theft. Well... Maybe by his conscience. God does chastise those whom he loves. (Hebrews 12:5-6) Chastising us for wrongdoing is one way God reaches out to us personally as individuals. [It is indicative of having a close personal relationship with our Creator.] The Bible tells us   יהוה  's  eyes are roving about in the earth to show his power in behalf of those whose heart is complete toward him. (2 Chronicles 16:9) For God to extend individual and personal help to us, we first have to have a heart complete toward him. [God has of course, helped each and every one of us as a group; through the gift of life and the provision of Christ's sacrifice for our sins.] The little boy was not acting in a right way so as to demonstrate a complete heart toward our Father. His actions, in going against his own conscience (Romans 2:15) to steal the gum, likely displayed his heart was not complete toward God at all. His repeated offenses must surely have demonstrated it was not! Remember, Jesus was probably not much older than the little boy when Jesus was found having the discussion with the priests in the temple: As Jesus righteously sought to learn about God. (Luke 2:41-50) Of course, since Jesus was perfect, none of us can be as upright as he was, but... The little boy of our example could certainly have been doing a better job of being righteous than going against his own conscience to steal what he desired. His actions would seem to indicate he had not caught God's eye as one with a heart complete toward his Creator. It would then follow it might have been hard for God to show his power in behalf of one acting in such a way. God certainly loved the little boy, but it seems unlikely He could have extended personal protection [or personal correction] to him. [We do not here assert ourselves as judges of what God did or did not do. We meditate on such things in an effort to better understand what our Father is teaching us from the Bible.] Having a "complete heart" toward God would imply making every effort to "touch nothing unclean" [trying to take no action that would make one unclean in God's sight]. (Isaiah 52:11-12) By his bad act, the little boy was likely separating himself from God's spirit and protection. It is commendable that the little boy feared God to some degree, and that he was trying to develop a conscience that would guide him in the proper way. God certainly appreciated the little boy's trying to learn to do right. But... Trying to learn to do right is very different from demonstrating friendship with God through obedience. (Romans 4:3) The Bible gives us an example in Abraham, who exercised faith in God; but then his obedience [based on his faith] defined him as righteous. (James 2:18-23) Our "works" today are the same: They are manifest in our obedience to God's word the Bible. (1 John 5:3) You must first, though, learn what the Bible teaches in order to be able to be obedient to it. Read your Bible; first about the life of Jesus. [Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.]

What about the young man the little boy became? In the old man's reflection on his life, he likes to believe it was a righteous act on his part for him to refuse to get his love for God mixed up with his love for money [during his consideration of becoming a preacher]. (Matthew 6:24) He went forward in life making a sincere effort to study the Bible, and always anxious to talk about Christ Jesus with others. He had other weaknesses show up over the years: As he from time to time separated himself from God's protection by some bad course of action. He always valued the Bible as truth, however, and over those years he tried to pattern his life after it's teaching. None of us are judges of who among those surrounding us are righteous. The Bible does help us, though, to gain insight into our own heart as to it's righteous [or unrighteous] direction over our lives. (James 1:23-25 , Romans 2:15) Our job before our Creator, or our work before him, is to be certain our faith is built only on Bible truth. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) We then stand before the judgment of Christ Jesus based on that faith, and on our obedience to what the Bible teaches. We must carefully learn truth from the Bible alone, lest we be surprised to find we have really been workers of lawlessness. (Matthew 7:21-23) When the little boy was stealing gum against his own conscience, he was working lawlessness. The fact he believed his troubled conscience indicated he was righteous had little impact on what his actions were, and therefore, on what he was as a person. That troubled conscience might have indicated an inclination toward righteousness, but what he was, was a worker of lawlessness. He likely did not have God's protection at all. [God can not touch anything unclean. (Isaiah 52:11-12 ; Deuteronomy 32:4)] God is the one who is judge of each individual's righteousness, of course, but it would certainly be dangerous to take any action which could make one unclean! As mentioned; it did not mean God did not love the little boy, or appreciate his efforts, but it is unlikely the little thief was viewed by God as righteous. God certainly hoped the little boy was moving toward righteousness. Maybe God even believed he was. The decision was the little boy's to make however, and the boy was not righteous until he made the decision to be so; and then demonstrated his righteousness by obedience. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 ; Genesis 22:12) The same applies for us all. Trying to be obedient to avoid punishment is not the same as being obedient to our Father because we know his ways are perfect, and because we want to please him out of our love for him. Fear can not help one be righteous, but love can! (1 John 4:17-18)

That is one way faith is such a beautiful thing. Obedience based on faith allows our choices to be upright, while we demonstrate that our obedience is not simply for the reward. [God knows why we obey, of course, but we do not. (1 Cor 4:3-4) We must build absolute faith in God's ability to judge who is righteous and who is wicked. We must then know by our own Bible trained conscience we are judged upright according to the teachings of Christ. (John 12:47-50) The approval of our conscience then grants us faith for life. (Romans 2:15-16)] We must strive to be righteous, just because it is the right thing to do. We start such a journey by coming to love God, because we first become aware of his love for us. (1 John 4:19) We then strive to imitate that love. We must also have faith   יהוה   is good, and that all his ways are perfect. (Deuteronomy 32:4 ; Hebrews 11:6) We must realize any deviation from   יהוה  's perfect way, any deviation from his direction, is heading toward imperfection and is bad: It is sin! Actions against   יהוה  's guidance will always bring harm. (Romans 1:28-32 ; Romans 2:1-2) It really is just that simple. The terrible conditions surrounding us in our world today amount to the final witness against mankind's disobedience to   יהוה  's direction. We are each and every one deciding who we are. A news cast showed people left destitute by the storm (hurricane Sandy) that hit the N.E. US, expressing gratitude for those who were helping them. A single mother with two children then expressed how she at night bolted herself into the upstairs of her home [the lower floor having been destroyed by the storm waters]. The reason she had such fear: Looters roaming the streets at night to steal "what little [they had] left." We do not require a lot of Bible knowledge to know some things are just wicked wrong. Make no mistake, God is watching, and we are all defining who we are. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Whether you are righteous based on your faith, then, depends on what the Bible calls: "The force actuating your mind" or the "spirit of your mind." (Ephesians 4:22-24) Lets consider another example: Imagine two men who both obey the governmental laws established for the benefit of mankind. The first obeys only when a policeman is watching. The second does his best to obey all the time. While the police couldn't know, each of these men demonstrate to God what the force actuating their mind really is. For the first, the force actuating his mind is external: It is the fear of punishment by the policeman. In the second man, it is a heartfelt appreciation for the good which is done by everyone who follows the law. The force actuating his mind exists internally, in his own heart. It defines who he is, and it controls what he does. If the "force actuating the mind" in any person is God's law of love, (John 13:34 ; James 2:8) it defines that person to be righteous. (Romans 2:13-16) Our righteousness thus depends on our love for our Heavenly Father, and on the obedience to his counsel which results from that love. (1 John 5:3 ; 1 John 2:15-17) Whether we are righteous in God's sight is directly related to the force actuating our mind.

Whether we are righteous thus depends on our having love for God because He is Good, and the Father of all; and our then being obedient because we know He always wants what is good for us. (Ephesians 5:20 ; Isaiah 48:17) We must love him simply because it is the right thing to do. If we really do love him, we will always obey him. (1 John 5:3) It's a good thing to want the reward of life, of course. We were created to live, and to love life. That reward of life will come, after we first obey: Doing so simply because obeying the Good Creator of us all is the right thing to do. (Jeremiah 42:6) Loving (and obeying) our Father is what defines us as righteous. No one can know if you are righteous except our Father! Even you can not judge your own self; except in knowing if you have done, and are doing, your best to train yourself according to   יהוה  's word. (Proverbs 22:4-6 ; Matthew 7:21-23 ; 1 Corinthians 4:3-5)   יהוה   does love righteous acts. (Psalms 11:7) Your conscience should affirm that God loves you, and if you strive to keep yourself clean through faith in Christ [demonstrated by obedience to the Bible];   יהוה   will protect you! (2 Chronicles 16:9) The simple knowledge of the truth - the knowledge of God's kingdom by Christ, is more valuable than anything you can imagine. (Matthew 13:44-46)

May we always remember that if we go against the counsel of God, we harm our own conscience and interfere with our ability to have God's spirit to protect and help us. Let us all strive to learn to be righteous individuals, demonstrated in our unwavering obedience to God's word the Bible. (Psalms 119:158-160) It is only the Bible which can align our thinking with that of righteous ones. (Luke 1:17) Read your Bible! Be intimately familiar with the teachings of God's son recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

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