Those who languish for righteousness are blessed, for this will be fulfilled.

Matt 5.6

    Please tolerate my providing my own translation of this beatitude. The usual interpretation is “Those who hunger and thirst.’ To be honest, my experience with hunger and thirst is that it has only been an inconvenience. I have been fortunate enough that my question about food has always been, “What am I going to eat?” Rather than, “Am I going to eat?” I have also been fortunate enough to live in places where the water coming out of the tap has been drinkable. Thus, this translation makes more sense.

    The longing for righteousness that Jesus is talking about is a deep longing for righteousness. The people he was teaching had experienced the brutality of a culture that pushed them to the sides and an occupying army that brutalized them. They longed for the end of an exile within their own land. Yet, the fulfillment of righteousness that Jesus offered was much different from what they desired and expected.

    What is righteousness? The simple answer is that righteousness is right behaviour. While we can entertain deeper definitions, it comes down to how we treat those around us. More specifically, it is doing what is right in God’s eyes. Our desire for righteousness is to be three-fold. First, is a desire that we ourselves are righteous, that we do what we know is just and right. Second, is our desire that the world around us treat us righteously. And finally, that the world treats each other justly.

    Given that the Beatitudes address our personal qualities, I would assume that the desire for righteousness is of our own actions. Thus, our deep longing for righteousness is not only that we have a right standing with God, but that our actions are humble, gentle, compassionate, and kind, amongst other qualities. To desire a right standing with God without desiring a change in who we are is simply self-indulgence. Yet, we are not able to behave well enough to earn this right standing. Nor do we have to! In his letter to the Romans, after telling us that no one is righteousness, Paul tells us, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Rom 3.22) This righteousness also changes our nature; Paul refers to this as becoming “slaves to righteousness.”

    This desire for righteousness is to be felt deeply. It is to be more significant than our desire for the material gain this world offers. It is to be more significant than our desire for the respect of others. It is to permeate all that we do. This desire for the world to be a righteous place can only begin with ourselves.

    While I look at the world around me, the unrighteousness that bothers me most is my own. For me, my desire for righteousness, to act in a just and gentle fashion, is usually strongest after a cringe-worthy moment. Often, my prayer is, “God, please keep from being an idiot.” Often, that prayer is answered. Our longing for righteousness is fulfilled in our faith.

Anyway, that is my opinion.