Are You Righteous or Self-Righteous When it Comes to Mistakes?

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”
                                   Proverbs 24:16 (KJV)
 



 


Hi friends,

     How are you?  Today’s Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations is on a topic with which we can all relate - - making mistakes.  Being human, we all make mistakes.  However, in Proverbs 24:16, we see that there is a difference in a way that our mistakes effect us based upon whether we are just or wicked.

     Before we talk about Proverbs 24:16 directly, let’s talk about mistakes.  We know that we all make mistakes.  Our mistakes affect us in various ways.  Often times, the affect depends on the size of the mistake, the consequences, and how we view mistakes.  As usual, we might find that attitude has quite a bit with how mistakes affect us.

     This is where attitude comes in.  Are we righteous or are we self-righteous?  There is a big difference in the two.  Once we recognize this, then we can start understanding Proverbs 24:16 in a better light.

     Righteous people are those who are believers and try to live a godly life.  They try to do things with a heavenly view and according to God’s Word.  Does that mean that they don’t make mistakes?  No, not by a long shot, because everyone makes mistakes, even St. Paul who God used to do so much for the early church and to build the kingdom of God.  For example, we might remember the words of Paul in Romans 7:15 (KJV), “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.”  Like Paul, the righteous people can recognize and admit their mistakes.  They don’t try to hide them.

     Self-righteous people are the opposite.  They either think that they don’t make mistakes or they can hide their mistakes.  They might not be able to notice their mistakes or don’t want to admit their mistakes to themselves or others.

     Now, let’s look at this through the words in Proverbs 24:16.  The first part of the verse (KJV) says, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again”.  Yes, even righteous God fearing people make mistakes and fall.  Making mistakes and falling is part of the life of a human for both righteous and self-righteous people.  And, Proverbs 24:16 shows us that we don’t just make one mistake in life.  We make many.  (No, I don’t think that seven is meant to be an absolute literal number.) 

     The encouragement of Proverbs 24:16 is the part where the righteous will “riseth up again” after their mistakes.  Praise God!  This is good news.  I don’t know about you, but to me, it is a relief that my mistakes don’t have to define me.  I am so glad that I can recover from my mistakes.

     Sadly, this isn’t true for everyone.  Not everyone who makes mistakes will recover.  In the second part of Proverbs 24:16 (KJV) it says, “but the wicked shall fall into mischief”.  Why the difference?  It might not seem fair.  Isn’t everyone treated equally?

     We are all God’s creations and all have free will to follow His will or not.  Yet, not all of us do.  This is where the difference comes in.

     As I said before, those who are righteous recognize their mistakes and admit them.  When one can recognize and admit their mistakes, they can also repent and ask for forgiveness.  God can then forgive them and the mistakes are wiped away.  They are once again made clean.  This is why the righteous can rise again.  They repent and are made clean again through Jesus.

     Those who are self-righteous or wicked don’t repent.  They don’t see that they did anything wrong.  They don’t ask for forgiveness.  So, instead of changing their ways and getting back on the right track, they continue doing wrong.  They move farther and farther away from God.

     It is during times of meditating on God’s Word and pondering their meaning like this as well as self-reflecting on our thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and actions, we can see whether God’s Word is rewarding us or convicting us. 
 
Heavenly Father,
     Thank you for your Holy Word.  Thank you for your love and guidance.  Help us to have a righteous mind and heart.  Help us to recognize, admit, and repent our mistakes.  Help us to ask for forgiveness with a humble and contrite heart.  I ask you this through your Son, Jesus.  Amen.
 
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Reflective questions for Proverbs 24:16 (KJV):
*What does Proverbs 24:16 mean to me?
*What does righteous mean?
*What does wicked mean?
*How do I approach the idea of mistakes?
*What do I do when I make mistakes?
 
Note, if you enjoyed this post, you may want to read these posts on similar topics:
*Self-reflection
*Repentance
*Righteousness
*Forgiveness

Now, it is your turn:
     I am thankful that you are here.  I pray God is using the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations to encourage you to read and meditate upon His Holy Word.  I pray He touches your heart as you read it and are moved to self-reflect. 

     If you are finding value in the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations, please feel free to others, so that others may find value as well.  If you feel called to comment on a post, to testify about what God is doing in your life, or to reflect upon the words in a particular verse, please feel free to do so.  I value your thoughts and hope we can encourage each other in God's Word.  Also, I welcome thoughts, ideas, questions, prayer requests, and praise reports.  Please, feel free to contact me.

     Also, if you haven't done so already, you may want to sign up below to receive the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations and other faith information in your inbox.  (That will save you from remembering to search for the new post each week.)  Thank you.  God bless. 

 

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