Right or Righteous?

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As we read through the New Testament it is so easy to look at the Pharisees and judge how manipulative and self-righteous they were. It seems like all they did was follow Jesus around trying to trap and discredit him. I read about them and think of how angry they must have always felt and how sad their lives must have been.
As quick and easy as it is to judge them I can look around at our world today and realize that there are so many similarities- especially in the Church. God's goal was for the Jews then, and the Christians now, to focus on Him and have a right relationship with Him. As Christians, our focus should never be so set on being right that we forget to be righteous. The Pharisees were so focused on proving that they were right and Jesus was wrong that their focus was completely off of the God they claimed to serve and completely on themselves. They no longer cared what the truth was, they only cared about their interpretation of the truth, and they would do, believe, and say anything to try and protect what they thought was right, whether it was or not.
How much do we see of this today? So much arguing, backbiting, lack of compassion, and lack of the fruits of the Spirit. We need to be much more concerned that we are personally focused on God and His righteousness through Jesus, than our appearance of being right.
We need to remember to pray Psalm 139:23-24 often- "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."
When you look at your thoughts and actions are they centered on righteousness through Christ, or on proving you are always right? Do you find yourself so angry with people you consider are wrong and think that you have to convince them that you are right? Are you able to rest in your righteousness, instead of your rightness?

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