Proverbs 12:27-28 – Righteousness leads to true life indeed

Seriously speaking, our speeches do have a way of revealing the kind of a person we are. Whether one is a wise or a foolish person, it can be picked up through our words. For this reason alone, Proverbs 12 plays a key role in telling us to shape our speech life correctly. Negative speech patterns ruin relationship. But healthy speech patterns edify and build up others. The choice on what type of speech pattern to adopt is obvious. We have established in Proverbs 12:24 that there are people who talk and talk yet accomplish nothing. And there are those who speak little but quietly and diligently work on their goals in life and attain position of honour.

The time a person spends talking will reflect whether he is a diligent worker or not. A person who talks away his time, displays his idleness and laziness. He should have spent the time roasting his game but he allows his laziness to lead the way. His laziness led him to neglect cooking his game. While he might have caught something to live on, his laziness causes him to discard it without doing something positive about what he had caught. Whereas, one who is diligent takes care of the substance he had acquired. Both of them view what they have acquired differently. The slacker couldn’t care about what he had obtained but the one who is prudent, with frugality, takes care to value what he had gained.

The end point of a righteous man is life for now and also life forever. To understand this verse more aptly, we need to understand the reality of death. Death as we know is a penalty for sin. And it is best defined as a separation. Physical death is a separation between one’s spirit and body. Spiritual death is a separation between one who may be alive physically but separated from God. Such a person is like a stalk of flower cut form the stem. It may appear alive but in essence is already dead. Why? Because it is no longer connected to the source of life. Without a relationship with God we are cut off from the source of life. And finally, eternal death is a separation from God for all eternity.

Here we must see righteousness as a God given privilege for people who believe in Him. He becomes a person in right standing with God. With righteousness he will live and act right.  He can then attain a meaningful life now on earth. Spiritual and Eternal death will not come in his way. He is connected to God on earth. When his journey on earth ends, though finally his spirit will separate from his physical body, yet he will lives on in the eternal presence of God. Righteousness is the key to both life now and life hereafter. No wonder we are instructed by the Lord to seek His reign over life and to have His kind of righteousness in our daily conduct in life. The Bible tells us that righteousness is the result of our relationship with God. We appropriate it by faith. Be sure that we are closely connected to God through Christ.  He is the bridge to righteousness and life. Stay connected to Him!