Righteousness vs. Rightness

I have heard it said that early on in his political career, certain groups of Christians made Abraham Lincoln very uncomfortable. PBS's recent special God in America went into Lincoln's personal notes when discussing his uneasiness with the church. As the North and South became increasingly polarized it worried him that on both sides of the divide was the church. The North and the South were both made up of sincere and devout followers of God who both felt like the Bible agreed with them and their beliefs. The thing that scared Lincoln the most about Christians was their rightness. 

There is a difference, a huge one in fact, from righteousness and rightness. When Jesus gave his life for us all on the cross, he made available for us all the gift of grace. When we unwrap that gift we find that grace forgives our sin and makes us righteous in God's sight. Our criminal records have been expunged. We are upstanding citizens in God's Kingdom. What we won't find inside that gift of grace is rightness. The gift of grace doesn't come with all the answers or make all your answers the right one. 

Lincoln would later more fully embrace the Christian community after the death of his son. He saw how Christians had a peace and trust in God even in such turbulent times as losing a child. He would view the steps he took in the Civil War to abolish slavery as him playing a part in God's plan to bring justice on earth. Still, even after he came to that realization, he didn't think that the righteousness he received from God gave him rightness in any situation. He saw the difference and the danger of thinking that believing in God made you right in all situations.

I can't speak for you, but it scares me when people feel like God's gift of grace means that not only are they righteous, but they are also right about whatever they are talking about. There are some pretty adamant people out there who totally believe in what they are doing and think that God is 100% behind them. The only people it's not clear how wrong they are is themselves. (Do I even need to mention Westboro Baptist Church)?

Still, I don't think that most people struggle with that overall sense of rightness. Maybe I'm wrong about that. I know a lot of people who don't like being wrong, myself included, but I know most of us really have huge questions about life. We would love to know the answers even if we were wrong on some stuff.  The pitfall that I fall into with righteousness vs. rightness is that I forget about the amazing gift of grace I have received. 

Great gifts are meant to be shared. God's grace has changed my life and done incredible things in the lives of so many people around me. I make the mistake sometimes of not sharing God's gift of grace with other people because I know that I don't have all the answers. Even though I don't have all the answers I do have the most important answer and that is where the gift of grace comes from.  God has given us the most incredible gift; the hope of salvation. That gift doesn't give us free reign or make us right in every argument. It does however change our eternal situation and it is worth being incredibly passionate about. So be passionate about being made righteous by God's grace, but be a little less passionate about always being right.