Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. (Genesis 6:9, NIV)
At the end of a round of golf, what do you remember—the good shots or the bad ones? Whatever your answer, this much is sure: there will be both.
As the Bible’s records of earliest humanity progress toward Noah and the flood, we become aware of the pervasiveness of sin throughout the earth. We read: “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways” (Genesis 6:11-12).
You don’t have to be a news junkie or peruse the various platforms of social media too deeply to know that our days aren’t far from Noah’s in terms of the cultural and spiritual conditions of humanity. The god of this age still blinds the minds of unbelievers (see 2 Corinthians 4:4).
We can be those who raise shouts against the sins of others. Or we can be those whose righteousness shines among them.Maybe louder than the noise of sin, however, is the noise of lament. The voices of talk radio wield their knives with slicing tones and draw the blood of judgment. “We’re going to hell in a handbasket”—does anyone still know what that is, by the way?—“and it’s no wonder, because the __________________ (fill in the blank with your preferred targets of derision) who lead this country are letting people get away with whatever they want.” In truth, the tide may be so great that the leaders have no power to stop a people corrupt in all their ways.
But all this is focusing on the negative, the awful, the degenerate. Even amidst the universal baseness of pre-flood humanity, God’s inspired word in Genesis draws our eyes to something else. Or someone else, as the case may be. To Noah.
We know from the full account of Noah’s life as it unfolds in the ensuing chapters that he was not perfect—once again reminding us of the spotlessness of Jesus alone among men. But God’s writer still delivered plaudits for Noah. He was righteous and blameless. In an age defined by the wide breadth of its sin, Noah stood out.
It seems we will always have two choices in life. We can be those who raise shouts against the sins of others. Or we can be those whose righteousness shines among them.
I shouldn’t have to tell you which of these is preferred, but I might have a suggestion about how to make righteousness the defining characteristic of your life. As Noah did, walk faithfully with God. This is far more than talking about him or about how he wants us to live. When we walk with God, we spend time with him, undistracted by the sinful options surrounding us, as well as the chatter about how bad this world is. There will be conversation between us, but there will also be quiet. We will wait on him, listen to him, see through his eyes, and do as he does, grieving over sin and rejoicing in the truth. We will “give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all” (Romans 12:17, ESV).
Yes, we live in a world where the bad may outweigh the good. But both are here. And it is righteousness that stands out.
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Jeff Hopper
January 22, 2019
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.