REWARDS OF THE RIGHTEOUS

By: Dennis Harworth

Restaurants are a great place to eat as well as meet with other people.  Somehow food and fellowship just seem to go together.  There was this one particular restaurant fairly close by the church that became a gathering place for singles after the evening services.  It was at this very restaurant that a woman who would later become my wife saw me for the first time.  It was also the first time I became acquainted with a “rewards card” for a restaurant.  It was the size of a business card and was marked each time a meal was purchased.  After so many purchases, you could present the card and receive a free meal of your choice.  The whole idea of this “reward” was to entice you to come back more often in order to get a free meal.  It did not seem to matter much.  Since the food was so good and the fellowship was so enjoyable, my card got marked a lot.  In other words, over time I thoroughly took pleasure in many free meals.

Throughout the Bible God promises rewards to those leading a righteous life.  These rewards are easily accessible when you know your position of righteousness.  The trouble is you might not think you are righteous enough to receive them.  Don’t let anyone deceive you.  Righteousness simply means “to be in right standing relationship with God and to do right”.  The Lord rewards the righteous and He promises that “he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward” (Proverbs 11:18).  Since the word “righteous” is mentioned 200 times in the Bible, there are plenty of rewards that are associated with it.  With great effort I narrowed it down to my personal top ten:  

· ACCEPTANCE BY GOD

...whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. (Acts 10:35)

· BLESSED BY GOD

For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous with favor… (Psalm 5:12)

· DELIVERANCE FROM TROUBLE

The righteous is delivered from trouble… (Psalm 34:19)

· DESIRES GRANTED

…the desire of the righteous will be granted. (Proverbs 10:24)

· ENRICHED

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure… (Proverbs 15:6)

· FLOURISH

But the righteous will flourish like leaves in spring… (Proverbs 11:28 NLT)

· IMMOVABLE

…He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved... (Psalm 55:22 AMPC)

· LOVED BY GOD

…The Lord loves the righteous. (Psalm 146:8)

· PRAYERS ARE HEARD

… He hears the prayer of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:29)

· PROOF

…He who practices righteousness is righteous… (1 John 3:7)

When you fully realize as a believer that you are in right standing with God, you will be enticed to receive the many rich REWARDS OF THE RIGHTEOUS!