You can always identify someone who is hungry for righteousness because his/her disposition will reflect their area of interest - godliness. Joseph was a classic example of someone who was hungry and thirsty for righteousness. He loved and feared the Lord. Even when sexual immorality was presented to him on a platter with attendant benefits, he vehemently refused and said in Genesis 39:9 “…how can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

Daniel was another classic example of someone who was both hungry and thirsty for righteousness. The Bible reveals in Daniel 1:8 that, though under no obligation to live like a Rabbi, Daniel however felt no compulsion for self-indulgence like his Chaldean school mates. It was on account of his thirst for righteousness that he determined not to be defiled in a strange land. Some people live careless lives when they are away from home. Some who had vowed never to touch alcohol start drinking in the name of cold weather. When some return from temperate regions, they move around virtually naked citing the hot weather as an excuse.

The problem with such people is not the environment; it is the fact that they do not consider God worthy of their sacrifice of holiness. Such people miss the rewards of righteousness, one of which is the spirit of excellence. The Bible says “Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore, God even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Hebrews 1:9). This is excellence in action. Those who live righteously do not live in condemnation according to Romans 8:1 which says “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

God is ready to grant all of your heart desires if only you would first seek His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

What is righteousness? How can you identify that which you have yet to define or point out the exact meaning of?