Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

Rev Koay Kheng Hin
1 October 2023

IS YOUR SOUL AT REST? This is the question we will be dealing with today.

There are so many factors that affect the state of our soul. Relationships, health, and emotions are some of these factors.

However, in the materialistic society that we are now living in, finances are one of the main factors that disrupt the rest of our souls. It is in this light that Jesus taught in Matthew 6:19-34 concerning the dangers of idolatry in the context of money.

These 16 verses are anchored by verse 24, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Money.”

The sermon text for today is 1 Timothy 6:6-11.

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. ¹¹ But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

This passage is an elaboration of Matthew 6:24.

The contrast is set between the love of money and the pursuit of righteousness. Verse 6 affirms that godliness with contentment is great gain. In hungering and thirsting for righteousness, a person obtains godliness with contentment, which is described as great gain.

In contrast, verses 9 & 10 warn about covetousness, hungering and thirsting after money, which bring many griefs and all kinds of evil. The apostle Paul then exhorts Timothy to pursue righteousness, to hunger and thirst for righteousness in verse 11.

What is meant by righteousness?

Righteousness is, in simple terms, living right with God and men. Righteousness, properly understood, is linked to relationships.

There is a relational nature associated with righteousness. As we look into the giving of the Law to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, we can see that, before speaking about the Ten Commandments, God began with “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2).

God began by reminding the Israelites that he was their God. He expressly stressed the relationship between him and the Israelites.

In that covenantal relationship between God and his people (Israel), the nation of Israel was to reflect the moral character of God as his people. To be righteous is not just to obey the Ten Commandments as a set of legal principles, standards, and codes of ethics. To be righteous is all about living in faithfulness to the terms of a covenantal relationship.

This covenantal relationship is defined by both duty and love. Duty in the sense that the commandments of God are not optional, for as Solomon reiterates in Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter; Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

However, at the same time it is a duty, not of law, but a duty of love as can be seen from Deuteronomy 6:5:6, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.”

To be righteous is then to be rightly related to God in expressing the moral character of God as the people of God as a duty of love. To be rightly related to him, we will hunger and thirst for righteousness, to live a life that is free from sin and unrighteousness.

Hungering and thirsting for righteousness is an essential mark of a Christian.

It is expressed in the fourth beatitude of Matthew 5:6. We need to be clear that this fourth beatitude does not say, “Blessed are those who are righteous,….”, even though this is equally valid. The exact language of the beatitude is “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,………”.

The emphasis in this beatitude is on the hungering and the thirsting. Psalm 42:1-2 gives this picture of hungering and thirsting, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with the living God?”

A person who hunger and thirsts for God will, at the same time, hunger and thirst for righteousness. Equally, a person who hunger and thirsts for righteousness will, at the same time, hunger and thirst for God. Both of these hungering and thirsting must be present together. God and his righteousness cannot be separated.

Saint Augustine talks about a restlessness in people; thus, “You (God) have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” There is a vacuum in every man’s heart that can only be satisfied in God.

The story of Cain and Abel comes to mind. Genesis 4:6-7 is an indictment of Cain for his unrighteousness. Cain was someone whose soul was not at rest. Unrighteousness disrupts the harmony of the soul, and the person loses the peace of God. In an agitated and disturbed soul arise all kinds of evil thoughts and actions. In the case of Cain, it was anger and resentment that resulted in murder.

For others, it may manifest in ill health, depression, and even financial difficulties. On the other hand, it is through a soul at rest that the promises of God in terms of blessed relationships, good health, stable emotions, and financial provision become actualized in life an insight that can be drawn from the principle of Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

What an irony! Most people would think that when their relationships, health, emotions, and finances are in order, they will experience the rest of the soul. However, the fact is that it is from a soul at rest that all these things come into order.

How is the person who hungers and thirsts for righteousness filled?

Such hunger and thirst affect two movements. The first movement is from the person to God. The second movement is from God to the person.

This dual movement is the insight of James 4:8, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” In encountering God, the person is filled. As we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we shall be drawn to God, and in him we shall find rest and be filled.

I conclude with Matthew 11:28-29, “²⁸Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”