Simple

“Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.” – Proverbs 21:21

Wow, when I received this passage in yesterday’s email, it hit me like, well, not a ton of bricks, but like an ounce of small feathers.  And it should.  It is so simple, just so simple.

It reminded me of what I was taught not too long after I became a Christian in 1980.  And it was this: Christianity is a faith, not a religion. Again, a very simple statement. And oh so true!  Christianity is not about learning and following a strict set of rules.  It’s not.  Following laws and rules will never lead to righteousness, although it might lead to live a good life, I suppose.

True righteousness (let me define it as virtue) is found, so simply, in Jesus Christ.  If you know him and trust him for your life and eternity, you have pursued and found righteousness. You have.  That is the first part of the above passage.  The second part says to simply pursue kindness.  Kindness.  As a response to the righteousness we have in Christ, live a life of kindness.  Oh, we may gussy up the word “kindness” to try to make it mean more than it does.  Or we might elucidate on what kindness looks like, such as Paul’s list in Galatians 5:22, 23 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, etc.).  We might.

But it is simply best expressed as…kindness.

Pursue righteousness.  Pursue kindness.  It’s all found in Jesus.  Avoid the ton of bricks…enjoy the feathers.

And it is that simple.