I wrote in the previous chapter that righteousness is its own reward, but that does not mean that it is the only reward. Righteousness bears abundant fruit in our lives. One of these is a spirit of generosity, along with the means and capacity to give generously. Jesus said, “It is more
blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35b), and Paul
reminds us that, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7b). Generosity is a character trait of the righteous, of those who are positioned properly with the government of God. After all, if we own nothing and are merely stewards of God’s property, there is no reason why we cannot give freely. And if we are heirs to the Kingdom of God and all its riches, which are in nite, we can give with no fear of running out.
David, in another of his psalms, contrasts the righteous and the wicked: “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but
the righteous give generously; those the Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut o ” (Ps.
37:21-22). Righteousness is aligning ourselves with God’s character and nature. In this way we grow to become like
Him, and He is a giver. Because God is a giver, when we get into right positioning with Him, He will give us more than we know what to do with. And because we are becoming like Him, we cannot help but become generous givers also.
The prosperity of the righteous is an ongoing blessing from God that spans generations. A few verses later in the same psalm, David writes, “I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed” (Ps. 37:25-26). God never
forsakes the righteous or their children. He always provides for them. The fruit of the righteous extends even beyond their lifetime to bless their children. Righteous living will bear the fruit in our lives of an inheritance we can leave to our descendents. We should be so blessed that our children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins should inherit a multiplied blessing, all because we lived our life rightly positioned with God’s government. That is the kind of fruit He wants to give us.
Right positioning places us under the protection of the King, who will preserve us even when the wicked are destroyed: “For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake
his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the o spring of the wicked will be cut o ; the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever” (Ps. 37:28-29).
Ultimately, the real estate of the Kingdom is reserved for the righteous, for those who are lined up with the Kingdom government. The destiny and prosperity of the ancient Israelites were intimately connected to the land. Even
today, the only true material wealth of any lasting value, particularly as an inheritance to pass on, is real estate. A fancy house doesn’t matter. A fancy car doesn’t matter. The best designer label clothes don’t matter. These things rust, rot, and fall apart. If you want to leave your children and grandchildren a valuable legacy, leave them land, not things. Leave them also the legacy of your example of not laying up treasures on earth, which pass away, but treasures in Heaven, which last forever (see Matt. 6:19-20).
Not only will the righteous inherit land to dwell in forever, but that land will be covered by a peace and security that the world knows nothing about: “The fruit of
righteousness will be peace; the e ect of righteousness will be quietness and con dence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest” (Isa. 32:17-18). What an incredible threefold
promise!
First, if we are righteous, we will enjoy the fruit of peace. Why? Because we are not living for the pursuit of things anymore. Our insatiable hunger for things robs us of peace. Peace in this sense means the absence of frustration and worry. Does that describe your life? Are you at peace?
Second, peace will produce the corollary e ect of quietness, or calm disposition, even in trouble. Nothing will disturb us. Do you have a calm, quiet disposition no matter what happens?
Third, peace also produces con dence—total trust and faith in the care, provision, and protection of God’s government. This means that we can go to sleep at night free of worry, fear, and uncertainty because we know that
our King has us covered. Do you have that kind of confidence on an ongoing basis?
“Peaceful dwelling places.” “Secure homes.” “Undisturbed places of rest.” Who wouldn’t give anything they had for that kind of peace and security! Yet this is the guaranteed inheritance of the righteous!
Unlike religion, which focuses on externals, life in the Kingdom of God focuses on inner transformation that manifests in external ways. As Paul reminded the believers in Rome, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating
and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men” (Rom. 14:17-18).
Here we have another amazing promise. One of the fruits of right positioning is that we please God and receive the approval of other people.
Pleasing God should be our focus rather than pleasing people, because when we are pleasing to God, He causes the approval of people to fall upon us. People approving of us does not necessarily mean they will like us. It may be simply that they see a righteous and honorable quality to our lives that they cannot help but respect, and a calm and joyous demeanor in the way we face everyday life that they cannot help but admire and envy. Our righteousness brings pleasure to God and elicits, however grudgingly, the respect and approval of people.
Righteousness, then, is the primary key to Kingdom living.