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Day 110 Proverbs 14:34 Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Righteousness means right standing before God. Before King Saul. Before King David. Before King Solomon, God ruled Israel through judges. Israel was a righteous nation. Its laws were handed down from God to Moses on Mount Sinai. As long as Israel followed God’s laws, they were in right standing before God. However, Israel wanted a king. They didn’t want God to rule them any longer. They wanted to be like all the nations around them. Saul started out strong for God, but soon fell into greed and jealousy, and God rejected him as king. David was a man after God’s heart. He wasn’t perfect, but we know he encouraged himself in the Lord and sought him all the time. Solomon started out strong for God. He built the temple, known as Solomon’s Temple, and dedicated himself and Israel to God at the dedication of the temple. Yet, Solomon strayed by following the gods of his many wives. Solomon did repent of his ways and returned to God. The evidence of his repentance is found in Ecclesiastes 12. Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; (KJV) Solomon was a man like all of us. Like us, he tested the waters of his youth. He enjoyed life and forgot what he learned from his father, David. It wasn’t until he described all life as vanity, that he recognized what it meant to be a righteous nation. Is there a righteous nation on earth today? Do the leaders of the countries of the world follow God and do what’s best for their country according to God’s laws? Before you become righteous in your answer, consider what Paul said. Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. As Christians, it is only by grace that you can stand before God, guilt-free and righteous in his sight, and that only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ poured out for all men on the cross. When you accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, God sees you as righteous. If you hold a leadership role, he sees that office or nation as righteous. If you have not accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, he does not look on you or the leadership role you’re in as righteous. God sees only a person in need of a Savior. Everyone’s life is stained with sin from birth. Knowing the sin you’re born in, Satan does his best to capitalize on it by causing more sin to come your way. What you see as having a good time, God sees as a reproach, a stain on the office or nation you preside over. The only way to cut off reproach is to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. When you do, you will seek God’s will for yourself and your position. What is your position before God? Are you righteous or a reproach? Let’s pray: Father, help me be righteous in your sight. Let your grace fall on me as I turn to you in everything I say and do. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 27 December 2016 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay