Proverbs 21:21
He who pursues righteousness and kindness
will find life and honor.
There is a certain perception of “righteousness” in our culture which does not readily associate it with “kindness.” A “righteous” person is assumed to stiff, forbidding, thin-lipped, and full of that stern, gray rectitude of a 17th century Puritan we associate with the sorts of people who burn witches. But biblical righteousness is not like this. It is open-handed, happy, and full of an ebullient liberality that is ready to have a feast or shower gifts on the poor. It is, in a word, kind like Fezziwig, not austere like Scrooge. Today, find life and honor by pursuing both righteousness and kindness. They are twins.
