Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me, because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them. The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing. I put on righteousness [tzadeqah] as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger. I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth. Job 29:11-17
“The righteous . . . are by definition those who are willing to disadvantage themselves for the community while the wicked are those who put their economic, social, and personal needs ahead of the needs of the community . . . Biblical righteousness is inevitably “social,” because it is all about relationships. When most modern people see the word “righteousness” in the Bible, they tend to think of it in terms of private morality, such as sexual chastity or diligence in prayer and Bible study. But in the Bible tzadeqah [the Hebrew term for “righteousness”] refers to day-to-day living in which a person conducts all relationships in family and society with fairness, generosity, and equity.”
Tim Keller as cited in Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good by Amy Sherman (Downers Grove: IVP, 2011), 16, 47.
As I enjoy rich dialogue with New England pastors, we share a passion that our righteousness, both biblically and practically speaking, must shape the society around us. If it doesn’t, then what we have is not biblical righteous, but rather some form of self-righteousness, which is no righteousness at all! Biblical righteousness will exhibit fairness, generosity, and equity in all aspects of our lives.
Self-righteousness says, “I earned what I have, fair and square. It’s mine to do as I please. The destitute got what they deserve from poor choices. They are not my problem.” Alternatively, biblical righteousness, as Job recounts, is like the clothing that garbs the one who lives not for himself or herself, but rather to serve others and lift them up out of difficult situations!
As I am on the road for this entire week and am missing my wife, Jenni, I left two words on the counter back home as a reminder: “to serve” (cf. Matthew 20:25-28). That’s not only what I am up to this week, but also what I know she is doing. What about you? It is why we are all here on this earth: “to serve” in a manner that exhibits biblical righteousness and generosity.