RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE

"To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice" (Proverbs 21:3 NKJV).
The writer of the book of the Proverbs was frank in his remarks about some salient issues. Righteousness and justice are ones of such issues. Both of them are interrelated. An English dictionary defines righteousness as "acting in accord with divine or moral law: free from guilt or sin; [to be] morally right or justifiable; [or something] arising from an outraged sense of justice or morality." The same dictionary defines justice as "the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments [or simply] the quality of being just, impartial, or fair." These two virtues are more acceptable to God than attempts to please Him through sacrifices or good works.
Many people today are religious. They are ready to do anything to please God, especially when they want to get anything from Him. Nevertheless, it is unfortunate that most of such people are not righteous and just to God, not to talk of other men around them. Such people are deceiving themselves because their acts of religiosity cannot be accepted by God unless they are behaving righteously and justly before Him. God sent Prophet Isaiah to His people that He did not have interest in the religious activities of the people, that they should rather "learn to do right [and] See that justice is done" (Isaiah 1:17 TEV. See also 1 Samuel 15:22; Jeremiah 7:21-23; Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8; Mark 12:33).
Do you want your religious services to be accepted by God? Do you want Him to be pleased with you? Then do righteousness and justice.
In His service,
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).