Proverbs 21:21–The Pursuit of Righteousness

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

This is an easily misunderstood proverb.  If one were not careful this verse could be interpreted out of context, thinking that the type of righteousness and kindness that is pursued is of little relevance to the discussion.  But I assure you that this is not the case.  What I mean to say is that our own righteousness is a worthless trinket compared to the surpassing awesomeness of God's righteousness, like the difference between a a grain of sand and sunshine.

Righteousness, of the kind and degree that this verse encourages, is wholly dependent upon God so that the effects–life, righteousness, and honor–would come to fruition in our lives.  Quite literally, it is as we receive the righteousness of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:22) that we are able then to fulfill all of the requirements that a righteousness of this kind demands.

So in the end this verse is not about us striving to be more righteous or more kind.  This verse is, like nearly every passage of Scripture, about faith.  O that we would devote ourselves to the righteousness of God that only comes through faith!