The effect of righteousness
will be peace,
and the result of righteousness,
quietness and trust forever.
Isaiah 32:17
I want peace ... and quietness ... and trust ... forever.
My only pondering is: What's the difference in this passage between "the effect of" and "the result of"? Not being a Hebrew scholar, here's my best guess ...
There are two kinds of ways that people tend to find success in the world:
- The first work hard for it. They have high ideals and set lofty goals. Imagine, for example, a good employee at work. She works hard and does everything right and gets rewarded for it.
- The second is like my dad. If you asked him about any successes in life, he'd tell you, "he just happened to be in the right place at the right time." He never purposefully chased success, but respect found him anyway simply because he has a unconscious knack for doing what is honorable and right.
Like I said, I'm not a Hebrew scholar. But I think that's the way it is with these results and effects. Some of the results are what we earn by working hard and doing the right thing. Others are just the natural, unconscious fruit of rightousness.
Therefore, our Advent Adventure is simply doing right ... doing right ... doing right ... following the commandments ... loving others ... being fair and generous ... and doing right ... until it becomes an absolute habit.
What habit, therefore, do you need to break so that peace ... quietness ... and trust ... might find you more consistently ... and forever?
In Christ's Love,
a guy who wants to be unconscious
(wait ... that sounds bad.
Don't knock me over the head ...
just pray for my unconscious, ingrained habits!)
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